•.<«»tStti.'W:<' 


PRINCETON.  N.  J. 


:* 


Library  of  Br,  A.  A.  Hod^e.      Presented. 


BV  2813  .M3  P3 
Patterson,  George,  1824- 

1897. 
Memoir  of  the  Rev.  James 

MacGreaor .  D.  D. . 


MEMOIR 


EEV.  JAMES  MACGREGOR,  D.D., 


MISSIONARY    OF     THE    GENERAL    ASSOCIATE    SYNOD    OF    SCOTLAND 
TO    PICTOU,    NOVA   SCOTIA  ; 


NOTICES  OF  THE  COLONIZATION  OF  THE    LOWER    PROVINCES 
OF  BRITISH  AMERICA,  AND  OF  THE  SOCIAL  AND  RELI- 
GIOUS CONDITION  OF  THE  EARLY  SETTLERS. 


BY   HIS    GRANDSOJ^^ 

The  Rev.  GEORGE  TATTERSON, 

PASTOR    OF   THE    PRESBYTERIAN   CONGREGATION,    AT   GREENHILL, 
PICTOU,    NOVA    SCOTIA. 


"In  journeyings  ofteD,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own 
countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  Heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  -wilderness, 
in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren,  in  weariness  and  paiufulness,  in 
■watchiugs  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness.  Beside 
those  things  that  are  without,  that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  cure  of  all  the 
churches."    2  Cor.  xi.  26-28. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

JOSEPH    M.    WILSON, 

No.  Ill  South  Tenth  Street,  below  Chestnut  Street; 

James  Patterson,  Pictou,  N.  S.  ;    A.  &  W.  McKinlay,  Halifax,  N. 

J.  De  Mill,  St.  John,  N.  B.  ;    Charles  Fletcher,  Toronto,  C.  W. 

William  Oliphant  k  Co.,  No.  7  South  Bridge,  Edinburgh; 

D.  McLellan,  Hamilton,  C.  W. 

1859. 


PREFACE. 


The  following  work  has  been  undertaken  principally  from 
the  combined  force  of  the  following  reasons — first,  that  such  a 
work  was  due  to  the  subject  of  it,  and  secondly,  there  appeared 
to  the  author  no  likelihood  of  its  being  attempted  by  another, 
to  which  he  may  add  that  the  time  for  doing  justice  to  the  sub- 
ject was  rapidly  passing,  and  would  soon  be  gone  for  ever. 
From  the  apostolic  labours  and  sufferings  of  the  deceased,  the 
loveliness  of  his  Christian  character,  and  the  universal  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held,  not  only  in  Nova  Scotia,  but  wherever 
the  tale  of  his  early  privations  and  his  arduous  toils  was  told, 
together  with  the  many  marked  dealings  of  Providence  with 
him  throughout  his  career,  it  was  universally  felt  at  the  time 
of  his  decease,  that  such  a  memoir  was  called  for;  and  when  it 
was  known  that  he  had  left  an  autobiography,  detailing  the 
most  important  events  in  his  life,  public  expectation  was  ex- 
cited. This  autobiography  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  late 
Dr.  MacCulloch,  who  from  his  long  and  intimate  friendship  for 
the  deceased,  as  well  as  his  eminent  literary  gifts,  was  so  well 
qualified  to  do  justice  to  the  subject.  The  number  of  his 
engagements  prevented  him  from  fulfilling  a  duty,  which  would 
have  been  as  grateful  to  his  own  mind,  as  we  might  have  ex- 
pected it  to  have  been  worthy  of  the  deceased.  Time  has  since 
passed,  and  there  seems  no  other  person  likely  to  do  the  work, 
and  the  author  has  felt  that  it  were  better  that  he  should  do  it, 

however  imperfectly,  than  that  it  should  not  be  done  at  all. 

(iii) 


IV  PREFACE. 

These  rcnsons  were  strongly  enforced  by  the  additional  con- 
sideration, that  the  time  is  going  by,  when  the  work  could  be 
done  in  any  thing  like  a  satisfactory  manner.  Most  if  not  all  of 
Dr.  MacGregor's  cotemporarics  are  gone.  There  are  but  one 
or  two  persons  living,  who  knew  him  previous  to  his  arrival  in 
this  country,  and  these  are  now  in  their  dotage.  Those  who 
hud  reached  years  of  maturity  when  he  arrived  in  Nova  Scotia, 
are  all  gone  to  the  land  of  deep  forgetfulness,  and  in  a  few 
years  there  will  be  none  living  able  to  speak  from  personal 
knowledge  of  his  early  toils.  The  written  documents,  which 
throw  light  on  his  history  are  also  perishing,  and  many  are  irre- 
coverably gone.  "  There  is  a  time  for  every  thing,"  but  the 
time  for  doing  justice  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  MacGregor  is 
nearly  past.  But  in  a  short  time  it  will  have  gone  for  ever, 
and  what  is  now  difl&cult  will  be  then  impossible,  and  what  can 
now  only  be  done  imperfectly  can  then  not  be  done  at  all.  And 
during  the  collecting  of  the  materials  for  the  following  memoir,  the 
writer  has  had  many  warnings  to  remember  the  divine  admoni- 
tion, "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might."  Several  individuals,  who  might  have  afforded  infor- 
mation have  passed  away,  while  he  was  contemplating  an  effort 
to  obtain  their  reminiscences,  or  he  has  visited  others,  only  to 
find  their  memory  a  blank,  and  their  intellect  quenched  by  dis- 
ease or  infirmity. 

Impelled  by  these  considerations,  the  author  has  devoted,  he 
cannot  say  his  leisure  time,  for  leisure  time  he  has  not  known 
for  ten  years,  but  such  intervals  as  he  could  snatch  from  en- 
grossing avocations,  to  gathering  and  arranging  the  materials 
of  the  present  volume.  He  is  aware  that  it  will  disappoint 
many,  and  none  can  be  more  sensible  of  its  deficiencies  than 
himself.  But  it  is  only  fair  that  he  state  the  difficulties  in  his 
way.  In  the  first  place  he  cannot  speak  of  the  subject  of  the 
memoir  from  personal  knowledge.  Two  scenes  exhaust  his 
personal  recollections.  The  one  is  the  remembrance,  deeply 
engraven  upon  the  mind  of  childhood,  of  a  tall  dark-complex- 
ioned man  entering  the  room  being  the  signal  for  a  rush  to  him 


PRErACE.  V 

of  us  children,  and  of  the  thrill  of  happiness  passing  through 
our  frames  as  we  sat  upon  his  knee.  The  other  is  of  being 
lifted  up,  a  boy  of  scarce  sis  years  of  age,  in  a  room  full  of 
disconsolate  mourners,  to  gaze  upon  his  lifeless  clay.  Then  all 
his  cotemporaries  are  gone.  Of  the  companions  of  his  boy- 
hood none  remain,  so  that  we  are  indebted  mostly  to  tradition 
for  the  few  incidents,  that  have  been  gleaned  regarding  his 
early  life.  Those  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  minis- 
try in  his  early  years,  all  rest  from  their  labours.  Those  who 
were  of  age  when  he  came  to  this  country,  are  all  gone  to  the 
land  of  deep  forgetfulness,  leaving  the  author  to  gather  his  in- 
formation regarding  those  most  interesting  years  of  his  life, 
from  those  who  were  but  children  at  the  time,  or  from  tradi- 
tion, and  he  has  learned  enough  in  attempting  to  get  at  facts 
handed  down  only  for  a  single  generation,  to"  see  how  valueless 
is  such  a  dependence  for  religious  truth.  But  besides  these 
things,  he  has  been  disappointed  in  his  efibrts  to  obtain  copies 
of  his  letters.  For  years  Dr.  MacGregor  kept  up  a  corres- 
pondence not  only  with  the  General  Associate  Synod,  but  with 
a  number  of  private  friends  in  Britain  and  America.  His 
communications  were  highly  valued  by  those  who  had  the  pri- 
vilege of  receiving  them,  and  from  traditionary  information,  we 
learn  that  they  contained  deeply  interesting  accounts  of  his 
early  labours.  But  the  parties  who  received  them  are  all  gone, 
and  in  some  instances  their  children  after  them,  and  we  have 
made  enquiry  after  their  papers  only  to  learn  that  they  had 
been  all  ruthlessly  committed  to  the  flames,  or  had  otherwise 
perished. 

Besides,  the  deceased  kept  no  journal  or  diary.  A  few  memo- 
randa were  found  of  events  written  after  they  occurred,  but 
they  want  that  vividness  imparted  to  a  scene,  by  its  being  de- 
scribed under  the  feelings  and  impressions  of  the  moment. 
Biographers  in  most  cases  derive  their  most  interesting  mate- 
rials from  such  a  source,  and  in  this  case  the  want  can  never 
be  supplied.  His  life  exhibited  so  many  remarkable  incidents, 
and  his  intercourse  with  individuals  so  many  instances  of  iute- 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

resting  spiritual  dealings  with  men,  that  if  full  records  had 
been  taken  of  them  at  the  time,  we  believe  that  they  would 
have  formed  a  biography  unsurpassed  in  the  English  language. 
As  it  is,  the  author  has  received  accounts  of  such  incidents  from 
the  children  or  the  children's  children  of  those  connected  with 
them,  yet  in  so  imperfect  a  manner  that  he  could  make  no  use 
of  them.  It  is  true  that  the  deceased  in  his  later  years,  at  the 
urgent  solicitations  of  some  of  his  friends,  who  had  often 
listened  with  delight  to  his  narratives  of  what  the  Lord  had 
done  for  him,  commenced  to  record  his  reminiscences ;  but  this 
was  done  after  the  lapse  of  forty  years,  when  the  impression  of 
these  scenes  must  have  become  dim,  and  the  review  of  only 
seven  or  eight  years  was  accomplished,  when  he  was  struck  with 
paralysis,  which  impaired  all  his  faculties,  and  especially  his 
memory,  so  as  to  leave  the  remaining  portion  of  his  narrative 
meagre  and  imperfect.  Even  of  this,  a  large  portion  has  been 
lost,  together  with  many  of  his  other  papers. 

Under  these  circumstances,  the  author  has  done  the  best  that 
he  could,  and  what  he  has  done,  has  involved  an  amount  of 
labour  of  which  but  few  are  aware.  He  has  travelled  long  dis- 
tances to  see  persons  likely  to  afford  him  information,  in  some 
instances  only  to  find  with  them  "  the  sun  and  the  moon  and 
the  stars  darkened."  He  has  conducted  a  correspondence  with 
persons  not  only  in  Nova  Scotia  and  the  other  British  American 
colonies,  but  in  Britain  and  the  United  States,  which  even  in 
these  days  of  cheap  postage  involved  considerable  outlay.  He 
has  strained  his  eyes  and  exhausted  his  energies  in  poring  over 
dingy  MSS.,  in  a  very  cramped  system  of  short-hand,  never 
intended  to  be  read  by  any  but  the  original  writer.  He  has 
spent  considerable  labour  in  illustrating  the  subjects  incident- 
ally connected  with  his  life.  He  has  consulted  authorities 
very  difficult  to  procure  in  this  country,  and  has  even  obtained 
works  from  abroad. 

To  him,  however,  it  has  been  a  labour  of  love,  and  could  he 
see  his  object  realized,  of  setting  before  the  present  generation 
a  just  view  of  the  labours  and  character  of  the  departed,  he 


PREFACE.  Vii 

would  feel  himself  amply  rewarded.  To  those  still  living  who 
were  familiar  with  Dr.  MacGregor,  he  is  aware  how  imperfect 
his  work  will  appear.  Yet  it  would  be  taking  an  undue  liberty 
with  the  public  to  appear  before  them,  did  he  not  believe  that 
he  had  so  far  succeeded  in  sketching  Dr.  MacGregor's  life  as 
to  afford  some  idea  of  "  what  manner  of  man  he  was."  It 
would  be  affectation  in  the  author  to  express  any  other  convic- 
tion, than  that,  with  all  the  disappointments  he  has  met  with 
and  all  the  deficiencies  in  his  performance,  his  labour  has  not 
been  altogether  in  vain.  He  rejoices  to  believe,  that  he  has 
been  enabled  to  some  extent  to  present  before  the  rising  gene- 
ration of  the  church,  such  a  record  of  his  labours  as  will  give 
them  a  better  view  of  them  than  they  have  hitherto  had,  and 
such  as  is  fitted  by  the  divine  blessing  to  be  profitable  both 
among  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  and  in  the  private  circles 
of  the  church.  Nor  is  he  without  hopes,  that  what  he  has 
done  may  be  the  means  of  making  his  name  more  widely  known 
abroad. 

Some  of  the  facts  and  incidents  recorded  in  the  following 
pages  may  appear  trifling.  The  purpose  for  which  these  have 
been  introduced,  has  been  to  illustrate  the  character  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  memoir,  or  to  exhibit  the  state  of  the  country  at 
the  time.  And  if  they  are  examined  in  this  light,  the  author 
believes  that  the  most  trifling  will  appear  to  serve  that  purpose. 

It  will  be  seen  that  much  of  the  information  is  traditionary. 
He  is  aware  of  the  uncertainty  of  such  authority.  But  the 
necessity  of  resorting  to  it  was  in  his  case  unavoidable.  He 
has,  however,  been  at  pains  to  verify  facts,  both  by  comparino- 
information  from  different  quarters,  and  by  securing  where 
practicable  the  testimony  of  two  or  three  witnesses,  and  thou^rh 
it  would  be  too  much  to  expect,  that  his  work  would  be  abso- 
lutely free  from  errors,  yet  he  believes,  that  though  f\irther 
information  might  more  fully  illustrate  the  subject  treated  of, 
it  would  not  materially  alter  his  statement  of  facts. 

Some  of  the  remarks  made  in  explanation  of  subjects  as 
they  occur  may  be  deemed  unnecessary.     In  reference  to  these 


Vm  PRErACE. 

the  author  would  remark,  that  his  work  is  written  for  two 
classes  of  readers,  viz.,  Scottish  and  American.  The  account 
of  the  rise  of  the  Secession  may  be  unnecessary  to  the  former, 
but  it  is  one  of  those  portions  which  the  latter  would  be  least 
willin>>;  to  spare.  On  the  other  hand  the  explanations  regarding 
customs  in  America,  though  unnecessary  there,  will  we  believe 
be  valued  by  those  in  Scotland  who  feel  sufficient  interest  in 
the  subject  to  peruse  his  work. 

He  would  also  embrace  the  opportunity  of  acknowledging  the 
aids  received  in  various  ways  from  different  individuals.  These 
are  so  numerous  that  he  cannot  particularize  them.  But  he 
cannot  forbear  mentioning  two,  viz.,  Mr.  John  Douglass,  Mid- 
dle River,  Pictou,  and  Mrs.  Hugh  Stevenson,  of  London,  C.  W. 
The  former  was  for  many  years  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with 
Dr.  MacGregor,  and  has  now  for  the  long  period  of  fifty-five 
years  filled  the  office  of  the  eldership.  From  him  he  has  re- 
ceived a  large  portion  of  his  information  regarding  the  early 
condition  of  Pictou,  and  many  of  the  incidents  recorded  in  the 
first  part  of  the  memoir.  The  latter  is  a  niece  of  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor, and  from  her  recollection  of  conversations  with  her 
mother.  Dr.  MacGregor's  younger  sister,  he  has  derived  the 
greater  part  of  the  information  regarding  his  father  and  his  own 
early  life  recorded  in  the  first  two  chapters. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  present  volume  will  elicit  fuller 
information  on  some  portions  of  his  life  which  the  author  has 
been  able  to  treat  very  imperfectly.  Should  this  be  the  case, 
and  the  present  work  meet  with  a  favourable  reception,  any 
additional  f  icts  that  he  may  be  able  to  collect,  will  be  embodied 
in  a  companion  volume  to  the  present,  to  be  entitled  "  Memo- 
rials of  our  Fathers,"  in  which  he  designs  to  exhibit  the  life 
and  labours  of  tliose  brethren  in  the  ministry,  who  were  asso- 
ciated with  Dr.  MacGregor  in  his  labours.  For  such  a  work 
the  author  has  been  already  collecting  materials,  and  should 
Providence  spare  his  life  and  bless  his  undertaking,  it  will  be 
issued  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years. 

The  work  will  be  found  to  contain  information  which  may  be 


\ 


PREFACE.  ix 

regarded  as  not  having  any  direct  reference  to  Dr.  MacGregor. 
This  has  been  inserted  with  no  desire  to  increase  the  size  of  the 
volume,  but  by  the  advice  of  friends,  who  have  strongly  urged 
that  nothing  should  be  withheld,  which  would  help  to  exhibit 
the  state  of  the  country  at  the  time. 

In  conclusion,  the  writer  would  only  say  in  the  words  of  an 
Apocryphal  writer,  "  If  I  have  done  well,  and  as  is  fitting  the 
story,  it  is  that  which  I  desired,  but  if  slenderly  and  meanly, 
it  is  that  which  I  could  attain  to." 


George  Patterson. 


Green  Hill,  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia, 
July  1859. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Connection  of  events  in  Providence — Highland  foray — Ecclesiastical  state 
of  Scotland  in  the  last  centurj- — Father  of  Doctor  MacGregor  —  His 
conversion  —  Character  and  family 1 

CHAPTER   II. 

Doctor  MacGregor's  birth — Native  place — Its  inhabitants — His  dedica- 
tion to  God — Boyhood — Education  at  school — At  college — Ecclesiasti- 
cal affairs  in  Scotland  at  that  time — His  theological  studies — Inquiries 
on  Baptism — Character  in  j'outh — Studying  Gaelic — Letter  to  a  Mac- 
Gregor— Notices  of  him  at  this  time 19 

CHAPTER   III. 

His  licensure — Preaching  as  a  probationer — Petition  from  Picton — His 
views  of  it — Appointment  by  Synod — Farewell  to  friends — Ordination 
— Early  Missions  of  the  Secession — His  departure — Voyage — Arrival 
at  Halifax — State  of  Society  there 41 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Nova  Scotia,  its  extent,  appearance,  soil,  and  resources — Early  settle- 
ment by  the  French— and  Englisli — Character  of  the  settlors — Reli- 
gious opinions — New  Lights — County  of  Pictou — Early  settlers  from 
Philadelphia  —  Hector  passengers  —  Emigrants  from  Dumfriesshire  — 
Disbanded  soldiers — Their  moral,  social,  and  religious  condition — First 

supplies  of  preaching — Application  for  a  minister 62 

(xi) 


XU  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    V. 

Journey  to  Pietoii — Road — Crossing  River — Lodging — Ash  cakes — Ar- 
rival in  Truro — Messrs.  Cock  and  Smith — Travelling  I'roni  Truro  to 
Pictou — Arrival  there — Its  appearance — First  Sabbath  services — Se- 
cond Sabhatii — Administration  of  Baptism — Elders  from  Scotland — 
Third  Sabbath — Robert  Marshall — Kenneth  Eraser — State  of  educa- 
tion      89 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Meeting  with  Truro  brethren — Controversy — Lodging — Election  of  elders 
— Upper  Settlement,  East  River — AViuter  labours — Visitations — Dis- 
banded soldiers — "Brand  plucked  from  the  burning" — Hand  mills — 
Travelling  on  the  ice — Spring — Letters  from  borne — Humiliation  Day 
— First  churches — English  and  Gaelic — Summer  labours 110 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Merigomish — Stipends — Redemption  of  slaves  —  Slavery  controversy' — 
Roads  to  churches — Visiting — Sacrament  of  the  Supper  dispensed 139 

C  II  A  P  T  ]<;  R    VIII. 

Visit  to  Amherst — Interesting  case — Course  of  visiting — TVni.  MacKay's 
prosecution — His  lodgings — Mrs.  A.  admitted — Grant  of  globe — Pro- 
posal for  another  minister  —  Elders  ordained  at  Merigomish — First 
house  in  Pictou  tov/n — Cases  of  spiritual  distress — Visit  to  Onslorr — 
Answer  to  prayer 164 

CHAPTER   IX. 

General  view  of  his  early  labours — Discouragement  on  arrival — Early 
preaching  —  Visitations  —  Catechizing — Travelling  —  Hardships — Ac- 
commodations— Conversational  powers — Affections  gained — Indians — 
Dispensation  of  the  Supper — Gathering  of  people — Place — Services — 
Interest  excited — His  discouragements  removed — Growth  in  grace — 
Success 179 

CHAPTER   X. 

Prince  Edward  Island,  its  extent- — Appearance — Soil — Early  settlement — 
His  first  visit — Charlotte  Town — Cove  Head  and  St.  Peter's — Mr.  Des- 
brisay — Princetown 207 


CONTENTS.  XIU 

PAOB 

CHAPTER   XI. 

General  view  of  his  Missionary  labours — State  of  travelling — Forests — 
AVinter — Snow  shoes — Dangers — Crossing  streams  and  bays — Accom- 
modation— Conversation  —  Preaching —  Examinations — Visiting — Re- 
sults   222 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Settlement  of  Stewiacke — Visits  thereto — Suffering  from  hunger — Um- 
brage at  Elder — Communion — Answer  to  prayer — Elders  at  Upper 
Settlement — Visit  to  Amherst — Dissapointment  as  to  MacBean  and 
Creo — Arrival  of  Romanists — Converts  among  them — Visits  to  River 
John,  Tatamagouche,  and  Wallace 245 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

Social  progress  of  Pictou — Statistics  of  congregation — Books  imported — 
David  Dale — Elder's  offence — Visit  to  Noel,  &c. — "Perils  of  waters" — 
Sickness — Visit  to  Prince  Edward  Island — Conversion  and  freedom  of 
slave — Remarkable  conversion — Winter  of  1795 265 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Appointment  of  Messrs.  Brown  and  Ross — Their  arrival — Reception — 
Dispensation  of  the  Supper — Formation  of  the  Presbytery — Settlement 
of  these  brethren — Division  of  Pictou  congregation — Doctor  MacGre- 
gor's  marriage 2S5 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Supplying  vacancies — Journey  to  Cape  Breton — Visit  to  Miramichi — 
Applications  to  Scotland — Indications  of  degeneracy  in  Pictou — Elec- 
tion of  1799 — His  farming — Studies — Presents  of  books — Essay  on 
Millennium — Death  of  his  father — Letter  to  AVilliam  Young — Arrival 
of  Mr.  Dick — His  ordination 309 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

Arrival  of  Doctor  MacCulloch— His  settlement  at  Pictou — Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor's  visits  to  Prince  Edward  Island  and  Douglass — Remarkable 
conversion — Letters — Province  of  New  Brunswick — Journey  through 
it — Letter — Journey  through  Prince  Edward  Island 337 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Visit  to  Miramichi — Halifax — Doctor  Keir's  arrival — Mr.  Gordon's  death 
— Accession  of  Mr.  Mitchell — Doctor  Keir's  ordination — Death  of  Mrs. 
MacGregor — Doctor  MacGrcgor's  second  marriage — Death  of  Mr.  Dick 
— Settlement  of  Mr.  Pidgeon — Degeneracy  in  Pictou 353 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Home  labours — His  charities — Bible  Society — Circulation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures— Correcting  Gaelic  Bible — Contributions  to  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society — Formation  of  auxiliary — Sermon  on  the  occasion — Ad- 
dresses on  its  behalf — Interest  in  its  operations — Collections  for  bring- 
ing out  preachers — Academy  projected — Collections  on  behalf  of  young 
men  preparing  for  the  ministry — Circulation  of  Tracts — Correspondence 
on  that  subject — Collections  for  Gaelic  School  Society,  for  Jewish  Mis- 
sions, for  Baptist  Missions  in  Burmah — General  Remarks 376 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

Arrival  of  Messrs.  Patrick  and  Croiv — Mr.  Patrick's  settlement  at  Meri- 
gomish — Mission  to  Scoodic,  &c. — Growth  of  harmonious  feeling  among 
the  Presbyterian  ministers — Opening  of  negotiations  for  union — Their 
progress  and  success — First  meeting  of  Synod — Results  of  union — Se- 
cond meeting — Arrival  of  ministers — Doctor  MacGregor's  correspon- 
dence with  ministers  in  North  of  Scotland — Efforts  to  obtain  ministers 
from  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland — Extract  of  letters — Com- 
mencement of  divisions  on  the  East  River — Holmes — Fletcher — Defec- 
tion of  people  of  Upper  Settlement — His  address  to  them — Their  re- 
pentance— Arrival  of  Rev.  D.  A.  Eraser — Division  through  the  coun- 
ty— Hia  feelings 401 

CHAPTER   XX. 

Later  missionary  journeys  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  St.  Mary's,  and  Cape 
Breton — Publication  of  Gaelic  Poems — Estimate  of  the  work — Their 
success — Other  Gaelic  writings — Letter  to  Rev.  Samuel  MacNab 437 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

Letter  to  Mr,  Andrew  Bruce — Degree  of  D.D. — Zeal  for  Pictou  Academy 
— Bible  Society — Domestic  Missionary  Society — Formation  of  local  so- 
cieties— Sabbath-school  society — Letter  to  Rev.  R.  Douglass — Synod 
Bermon — Ordination  of  Rev.  Angus  MacGillivray 456 


CONTENTS.  XV 

FAGB 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Congregational  affairs — Old  age — Civil  disabilities  of  Dissenters — Opera- 
tions of  Glasgow  Colonial  Society — Letter  to  its  members — Gas  experi- 
ments— General  Mining  Association's  operations — Selling  his  farm — 
First  stroke  of  paralysis — State  after  that  time — Death — View  of  his 
mental  powers — Domestic  life — Widow — and  family 478 


APPENDIX. 

A.  Petition  from  Pictou 511 

B.  Petition  to  the  Presbytery  of  Perth 512 

C.  Extract  of  ordination  of  the  Rev.  J.  D.  MacGregor 514 

D.  Copy  of  Slave  sale 516 

E.  Letter  of  Associate  Presbytery  of  Pictou  to  General  Associate  Synod.  517 

F.  History  of  Parish  of  St.  James,  N.  B 521 

G.  Notices  of  Doctor  MacGregor's  character  and  labours 525 


MEMOIR  OF  THE 

REV.  JAMES  MACGREGOR. 


CHAPTER    I 

INTRODUCTORY. 


The  glory  of  children  is  their  fathers. — Prov.  xvii.  6. 

The  plans  of  Providence  exhibit  one  closely  connected  chain 
of  events,  stretching  from  the  beginning  of  time  till  the  end 
thereof;  and  each  link  in  the  chain  is  inseparably  united  with 
every  other,  whether  in  the  all  absorbing  past  or  the  opening 
future.  Each  event,  as  it  occurs,  has  been  the  result  of  a  com- 
bination of  causes  acting,  it  may  be,  through  all  the  past  periods 
of  human  existence,  and  will  exert  its  influence  upon  the  future 
till  "  the  last  syllable  of  recorded  time.''  Each  individual  of 
the  mighty  multitude  who  throng  our  globe,  is,  both  in  the 
circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed,  the  characteristics  by 
which  he  is  distinguished,  and  the  part  which  he  acts,  the  pro- 
duct of  a  series  of  causes  and  events,  stretching  away  back  into 
the  past  until  history  and  tradition  go  out  in  darkness;  and  he 
produces  a  circle  in  the  ocean  of  time  which  is  ever  widening 
and  will  continue  to  extend  till  the  last  trumpet  shall  arrest  the 
course  of  sublunary  things.  Humble  as  may  be  the  sphere 
which  he  occupies,  unimportant  as  may  seem  the  events  that 
befall  him,  his  life  is  yet  a  stage  in  a  history  whose  roots  reach 
back  to  the  time  when  man  received  his  origin  from  his  Crea- 
tor, his  influence  during  his  own  time  ramifies  in  all  directions, 
and  forming  part  of  the  mass  of  life,  ever  hastening  onward, 
he  aids  in  swelling  the  vast  tide  of  human  progression  toward 

(1) 


Z  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  ultimate  goal  of  humanity  on  earth ;  yea,  even  strikes  a 
chord  whose  vibrations  reach  to  other  spheres  and  continue 
through  eternal  ages. 

But  in  the  ease  of  the  vast  majority  of  mankind,  the  connection 
of  their  lives,  cither  with  \vhat  precedes  or  what  follows,  can 
be  traced  only  for  a  few  generations.  A  few  can  point  to  a 
line  of  ancestry  extending  f:ir  back  into  the  remote  past;  a  few 
have  their  names  linked  with  events,  which  on  the  page  of  his- 
tory stand  out  in  brilliant  illumination  from  the  dark  ground 
of  oblivion;  and  a  few  act  a  part  upon  the  theatre  of  life,  by 
which  they  obtain  a  celebrity  which  bears  their  names  down  to 
a  distant  posterity.  But  of  the  overwhelming  mass  of  mankind 
history  preserves  no  record.  However  strong  their  desire  to 
connect  their  names  with  what  is  eminent  in  the  past,  with 
events  which  are  famous  in  story,  or  with  men  whom  we  vainly 
denominate  the  deathless  great,  the  desire  is  vain ;  their  very 
genealogy  can  be  traced  only  for  a  few  ages,  and  their  early  an- 
cestral history  is  a  blank.  Alike  vain  is  their  desire  for  future 
fame.  All  remembrance  of  the  vast  majority  of  mankind  is 
destined  to  pass  away,  save  from  that  mind  which  fully  knows 
all  beings  and  all  events,  which  searches  all  motives,  which  weighs 
all  actions,  which  traces  all  influences,  and  awards  all  retribu- 
tion. Even  local  tradition  preserves  any  information  concern- 
ing them  only  for  a  brief  period.  In  a  few  generations  their 
very  names  will  be  forgotten  on  earth, — their  monuments  will 
crumble  to  dust,  and  nothing  mark  the  spot  where  their  ashes 
repose,  so  that  all  efforts  to  preserve  the  recollection  of  them 
seems  like  a  vain  struggle  with  the  decree  of  the  Almighty. 

Yet  "  the  righteous  shall  be  in  everlasting  remembrance." 
Whatever  be  their  ancestral  history,  the  light  of  their  good 
deeds  lingers  around  the  scene  of  their  labours  long  after  they 
have  lain  down  to  their  last  repose.  "  Their  works  do  follow 
them."  Many  of  them  have  done  deeds  far  surpassing  in  real 
greatness  those  of  the  warrior  on  the  tented  field ;  and,  it  may 
be  in  some  humble  sphere,  where  the  voice  of  worldly  applause 
reached  them  not,  they  have  achieved  results  more  important 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOK,    D.D.  3 

than  the  victories  of  Trafalgar  or  Waterloo.  And  when  actions 
are  judged  according  to  their  intrinsic  merit,  and  honours 
awarded  accordingly,  the  heads  of  such  men  will  be  encircled 
by  a  glory  compared  with  which  the  earthly  honours  of  the 
mightiest  conquerors  shall  have  "  no  glory  by  reason  of  the 
glory  that  excelleth."  Such  men  will  not  be  forgotten.  Their 
''  record  is  on  high."  One  there  is,  who,  we  are  assured,  ''  is 
not  unrighteous  to  forget  their  work  of  faith  and  labour  of  love, 
which  they  have  showed  toward  his  name."  And  among  men, 
''  future  generations  will  arise  up  and  call  them  blessed."  Jus- 
tice to  their  memory,  as  well  as  the  profit  of  those  who  succeed, 
requires  that  their  deeds  should  be  recorded,  their  virtues  hon- 
oured, and  their  names  embalmed,  in  the  grateful  recollections 
of  posterity.  This  is  a  duty  enforced  by  divine  authority. 
"  Remember  the  dajs  of  old,  and  consider  the  years  of  many 
generations;  ask  thy  father,  and  he  will  shew  thee;  thy  elders, 
and  they  will  tell  thee."  The  things  "  which  we  have  heard 
and  known,  and  our  fathers  have  told  us.  We  will  not  hide 
them  from  their  children,  shewing  to  the  generation  to  come 
the  praises  of  the  Lord,  and  his  strength  and  his  wonderful 
works  that  he  hath  done."  Such  is  the  justification  of  the 
present  imperfect  and  too  long  delayed  efibrt  to  do  justice  to  the 
memory  of  one,  of  whose  labours  the  Lower  Provinces  of  Brit- 
ish America  have  reason  to  retain  a  gi'ateful  recollection. 

In  tracing  his  antecedents,  we  at  once  acknowledge  that  we 
can  point  to  no  long  pedigree  of  illustrious  ancestors.  But  if 
the  Scripture  declaration  be  regarded,  that  "  the  memory  of  the 
ju&t  is  blessed,"  his  parentage  was  well  worthy  of  a  record. 
He  might  use  regarding  it  the  language  of  the  Poet, 

"  My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birth, 
From  loins  enthroned,  or  princes  of  the  earth, 
But  higher  far  my  proud  pretensions  rise. 
The  son  of  parents  passed  into  the  sliies." 

Nor  can  he  be  connected  historically  with  any  of  those  great 
events  which  in  the  past  have  decided  the  destinies  of  nations ; 


4  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

but  we  caa  record  incidents,  which  to  him  who  will  "obserre 
the  work  of  the  Lord  and  consider  the  operations  of  his  hand," 
mark  the  wonder-working  hand  of  Divine  Providence,  which 
connects  all  events  past,  present,  and  future,  the  smallest  as 
well  as  the  greatest  in  one  scheme;  and  by  the  manner  in 
which  they  combine  to  work  out  his  purposes  manifests  his 
glory,  so  as  to  attract  to  himself  the  admiration,  the  esteem, 
the  reverence,  and  the  love  of  intelligent  beings. 

Let  us  then  direct  the  minds  of  our  readers  to  a  period  a 
few  years  previous  to  the  last  rebellion  in  Scotland,  and  briefly 
refer  to  the  social  condition  of  the  Northern  parts  of  that  coun- 
try previous  to  that  important  event.  The  outbreak  of  1715 
had  been  speedily  quelled,  but  the  spirit  of  rebellion,  so  far 
from  being  extinct,  was  only  gathering  strength  for  the  more 
terrible  outbreak  of  1745.  The  majority  of  the  clans  were 
zealous  in  their  adherence  to  the  House  O'f  Stuart,  and  schemes 
being  then  on  foot  for  the  restoration  of  the  exiled  family  to 
the  British  throne,  they  were  not  disposed  to  render  very  im- 
plicit subjection  to  the  ruling  powers.  The  power  of  the  High- 
land chiefs  still  remained  unbroken,  the  ancient  feudal,  or  per- 
haps more  properly,  patriarchal  institutions  were  in  full  vigour, 
the  social  changes  which  were  introduced  on  the  suppression  of 
the  rebellion,  were  still  unheard  of,  and  chief  and  vassal  alike 
retained  their  attachment  to  their  peculiar  customs  and  their 
ancient  superstitions.  In  particular  war  was  deemed  an  em- 
ployment highly  honourable,  while  honest  labour  was  despised, 
and  it  was  viewed  as  no  disgrace,  but  on  the  contrary  as  an  ex- 
ploit of  signal  merit,  to  sweep  off  the  cattle  of  a  neighbouring 
clan  or  of  Lowlanders,  who  refused  to  acknowledge  their  superi- 
ority. In  these  circumstances  life  and  property  were  insecure, 
not  only  in  the  Highlands,  but  in  the  districts  bordering  upon 
them. 

Among  the  Highland  raids,  or  plundering  expeditions,  char- 
acteristic of  that  period,  was  one,  made  as  near  as  we  can  ascer- 
tain between  the  years  1730  and  1735,  upon  a  hamlet  in  the 
Northern  part  of  Perthshire;  close  by  Loch  Earne  and  bordering 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  5 

on  the  Macgregor's  country.  The  dwellings  of  the  inhabitants 
were  burned,  and  their  cattle  driven  away.  We  have  no  par- 
ticular account  of  the  event.  It  of  course  receives  no  mention 
in  history.  Before  the  scenes  which  the  general  historian  has 
to  describe,  it  fades  into  infinitesimal  insignificance.  Even  local 
tradition  scarce  preserves  any  particulars  of  the  affair,  cither 
of  the  actors  in  it,  the  events  connected  with  it,  or  its  initiie- 
diate  consequences.  But  in  one  respect  we  know  that  the  most 
important  results  followed.  It  was  the  means  of  leading  one  young 
man,  then  about  twenty  years  of  age,  to  leave  his  native  district, 
and  to  proceed  to  the  Lowlands,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
employment  there,  and  upon  this  simple  fact,  the  whole  of  our 
subsequent  history  depends.  The  individual  who  came  down 
some  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  ago,  like  so  many  more  of 
his  Highland  countrymen  before  and  since,  for  the  purpose  of 
improving  his  worldly  condition,  belonged  to  the  celebrated  clau 
Gregor,  but  then  bore  the  name  of  James  Drummond,  his 
family  having  adopted  that  name  in  consequence  of  the  out- 
lawry of  that  elan,  and  their  being  forbidden  to  use  their  own 
name.  This  was  the  f;ither  of  the  subject  of  our  Memoir,  and 
his  visit  at  that  time  was  the  means  in  the  arrangements  of  Divine 
Providence  of  determining  the  character  of  his  whole  future 
life,  and  produced  results  which  eternity  alone  can  disclose. 

We  believe  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  at  that  time  there 
was  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  Highlands  little  of  reli- 
gion but  the  name.  In  some  places  the  change  from  Popery  to 
Protestantism  had  been  accomplished  merely  by  the  order  of 
their  Lairds,  while  except  in  some  favoured  districts  the  mass 
of  the  people  had  but  little  acquaintance  with  the  glorious  doc- 
trines of  the  Keformation.  Even  some  years  later,  it  was  com- 
monly said  that  '^  Sabbath  didna  come  aboon  the  pass  of  Killie- 
crankie."  Of  the  prevalent  ignorance  and  ungodliness  James's 
native  parish  had  its  full  share.  Up  till  the  time  of  his  leav- 
ing for  the  South,  he  had,  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  little  or  no 
knowledge   of  the  doctrines  of   the  gospel.     His   motives   in 

going  south  appear  to  have  been  entirely  of  a  worldly  nature, 
I* 


6  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

and  he  applied  himself  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  weaver  in  Alloa. 
But  Providence  which  *'  leads  the  blind  by  a  way  which  they 
know  not,  and  conducts  them  in  paths  which  they  have  not 
known/'  was  compassing  his  path  to  bring  him  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  blessings  he  yet  knew  not  of  He  came  to  the  Low- 
lands seeking  worldly  good,  but  Providence  designed  to  make 
his  visit  the  means  of  securing  to  him  that  wisdom,  whose  price 
is  above  rubies,  illustrating  the  divine  saying,  "  I  was  found  of 
them  that  sought  me  not." 

We  must  however  here  advert  to  the  ecclesiastical  state  of 
Scotland  at  this  period.  That  spiritual  deadness  into  which 
many  of  the  churches  of  the  Reformation  had  sunk  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  eighteenth  century  was  severely  felt  in  that 
country,  and  was  in  a  large  measure  produced  or  at  least  greatly 
aggravated  by  the  measures  adopted  for  the  settlement  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  after  the  Revolution  of  1688.  That  settle- 
ment while  it  restored  the  Presbyterian  form  of  Church  Govern- 
ment so  dear  to  the  people  of  Scotland,  and  delivered  the  per- 
secuted from  the  severe  suiferings  to  which  they  had  been  sub- 
jected, yet  entailed  many  evils  upon  the  Church.  The 
admission  to  parishes  on  easy  terms  of  the  late  Episcopal  in- 
cumbents, men  whom  Bishop  Burnet,  himself  an  Episcopalian, 
describes  as  "  the  worst  preachers  he  ever  heard,  ignorant  to  a 
reproach,  and  many  of  them  openly  vicious,  a  disgrace  to  their 
orders,  and  indeed  the  dregs  and  refuse  of  the  Northern  parts," 
paved  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  many  errors  in  doctrine 
and  practice.  The  law  of  patronage  also  facilitated  the  intro- 
duction of  a  corrupt  and  time  serving  ministry,  so  that,  at  the 
time  of  which  we  speak,  they  had  become  the  ruling  party  in 
the  Church.  The  Evangelical  party  had  continued  after  the 
Revolution  to  exercise  considerable  influence,  but  corruption 
gained  strength.  The  generation  of  ministers  who  had  upheld 
the  testimony  of  the  Church  in  the  trying  times  of  the  martyrs 
had  now  passed  away,  and  a  generation  of  another  spirit  ruled 
the  counsels  of  the  Church,  whose  nieasures  wei'e  characterized 
"by  utter  unfaithfulness  to  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  as  well 


REV.    JAMES   MACaREdOR,   D.D.  7 

as  disregard  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  Christian  people. 
The  most  dangerous  errors  had  been  promulgated  by  one  of  its 
professors,  and  by  others  occupying  prominent  positions  ;  yet 
such  was  the  temper  of  the  majority,  that  they  were  allowed  to 
escape  altogether  or  with  very  slight  censure.  And  not  only 
BO  but  the  General  Assembly  had  condemned  as  "  unsound"  and 
*'  detestable,"  a  proposition  adopted  by  one  of  the  Presbyteries 
as  a  means  of  testing  the  qualifications  of  applicants  for  the 
ministry,  which  is  of  the  essence  of  the  gospel,*  and  in  the 
celebrated  Marrow  controversy  which  immediately  followed, 
stamped  with  their  disapprobation  a  work  which  was  distin- 
guished by  its  exhibition  of  an  unfettered  gospel,  and  censured 
at  their  bar  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  Church  for  their  faith- 
ful advocacy  of  its  principles.  Under  the  law  of  patronage, 
ministers  the  most  objectionable  were  intruded  into  parishes  in 
opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  great  majority  of  the  people, 
and  even  of  Presbyteries.  At  one  meeting  of  Assembly  no 
less  than  twelve  petitions  and  appeals  were  presented  against 
objectionable  settlements,  yet  in  every  case  they  were  persisted 
in  even  when  the  introduction  into  the  Church  could  be  accom- 
plished only  by  military  force. 

Many  excellent  and  faithful  men  had  protested  against  these 
proceedings,  but  galled  by  their  faithful  testimonies  the  prevail- 
ing party  determined  to  prevent  or  suppress  them,  and  enacted 
that  no  reasons  of  dissent  against  their  proceedings  should  be  re- 
corded. Two  representations,  one  signed  by  forty-two  ministers 
and  the  other  by  1700  people  were  refused  to  be  heard,  and  a  pro- 
test signed  by  fifteen  ministers  was  not  permitted  to  be  recorded. 
The  only  method  left  to  those  who  mourned  over  these  corrup- 
tions was  to  protest  against  them  in  their  public  ministrations, 
and  an  attempt  to  suppress  these  in  a  particular  instance  led  to 

*  The  following  is  the  proposition  inserted  in  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Auchterarder,  for  which  they  were  treated  with  indignant  severity  :  "That 
it  is  not  sound  and  orthodox  to  teach  that  we  must  forsake  sin  in  order  to  our 
coming  to  Christ  and  instating  us  in  covenant  with  God." 


8  MEMOia   01?   THE 

the  Secession,   and  gave  birth  to  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  Perth  and  Stirling,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1732,  the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Erskine,  one  of  the  ministers  of 
Stirling,  and  retiring  moderator,  in  preaching  the  opening  ser- 
mon, which  he  did  from  Psal.  cxviii.  22,  "  The  stone  which  tlic 
builders  refused  is  become  the  head-stone  of  the  corner,"  testi- 
fied with  great  plainness  of  speech  against  the  course  pursued 
by  the  courts  of  the  church, 

Mr.  Erskine  had  long  stood  forth  the  consistent  friend,  both 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  and  the  freedom  of  the  church. 
In  the  controversies  of  the  previous  twenty  years  he  had  held 
a  prominent  place  among  those  who  were  struggling  against 
the  defections  of  the  majority.  But  his  present  measure  brought 
matters  to  a  crisis.  The  Synod  resolved,  that  for  the  statements 
and  language  of  his  sermon  he  should  be  rebuked  at  their  bar, 
and  admonished  to  behave  orderly  in  future.  On  an  appeal  to 
the  General  Assembly,  that  court  approved  of  the  sentence  of 
the  Synod,  and  appointed  him  to  be  admonished  and  rebuked 
at  their  bar.  Against  this  decision,  Mr.  E.,  together  with 
the  Rev.  Alexander  Moncrieff  of  Abernethy,  the  Eev.  William 
Wilson  of  Perth,  and  the  Rev.  James  Fisher  of  Kinclaven, 
tendered  a  paper  containing  their  solemn  protest,  and  claiming 
the  liberty  of  preaching  the  same  doctrines,  and  of  testifying 
against  the  same,  or  like  defections  of  the  church,  upon  all 
proper  occasions.  The  indignation  of  the  Assembly  was  aroused 
by  the  faithful  language  of  their  protest,  and  without  allowing 
the  protesters  a  hearing  before  the  court,  it  ordered  them  to  ap- 
pear before  the  Commission  in  August,  and  to  retract,  and  ex- 
press sorrow  for  what  they  had  done,  on  pain  of  being  suspended 
from  the  exercise  of  the  ministry  in  the  first  instance,  and  of 
being  deposed  should  they  still  continue  refractory.  On  their 
refusal  to  retract  or  express  sorrow,  the  Commission  of  Assem- 
bly did  in  August,  1733,  and  in  a  way  which  set  at  defiance 
even  the  forms  of  justice,  suspend  the  ''four  brethren,"  from 
the   exercise,    of  the   ministerial   function,  and   all   the   parts 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  9 

thereof.  To  this  sentence  they  refused  to  submit,  declaring  it 
null  and  void.  In  November  following,  the  Commission  dis- 
solved the  pastoral  relation  between  them  and  their  congrega- 
tions, declaring  them  no  longer  ministers  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  The  "  four  brethren"  then  handed  in  a  protest,  in 
which,  after  describing  the  "  continued  course  of  defection"  of 
"  the  prevailing  party,"  they  declared  themselves  bound  in  con- 
science to  make  a  Secession  from  them.  This  step  they  fol- 
lowed up  on  the  5th  December,  1733,  by  forming  themselves 
into  a  Presbytery,  called  the  Associate  Presbytery. 

They  continued  for  some  time  to  occupy  the  same  pulpits, 
and  their  preaching  excited  greater  attention  than  before. 
Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Scotland,  the  proceedings 
of  which  we  have  given  a  summary  were  regarded  with  deep 
interest.  By  the  most  pious  portion  of  the  community  these 
men  were  looked  upon  as  the  friends  of  evangelical  truth  and 
the  representatives  of  popular  rights,  and  from  the  treatment 
they  received  were  regarded  with  the  admiration  and  sympathy 
due  to  sufferers  in  a  righteous  cause.  In  the  parishes  of  the 
seceding  ministers  the  interest  showed  itself  in  rather  tumul- 
tuous forms,  when  the  attempt  was  made  to  intimate  the  sen- 
tence of  the  Commission  in  their  respective  churches.  But  far 
beyond  their  parishes  the  interest  was  widening  and  deepening. 
Either  from  zeal  for  religion  or  from  sympathy,  multitudes 
were  to  be  found  leaving  their  respective  parishes,  and  travelling 
great  distances  to  attend  the  ministration  of  the  seceding  min- 
isters, and  within  five  years  after  the  secession,  the  Presby- 
tery had  in  one  twelvemonth  no  less  than  70  applications  for 
preaching. 

We  have  referred  to  these  events,  not  only  because  some  ac- 
quaintance with  them  is  necessary  to  understand  the  ecclesias- 
tical position  and  portions  of  the  history  of  the  subject  of  our 
memoir,  but  especially  because  they  were  the  events  which  un- 
der God  determined  the  character  of  his  father,  and  in  this 
way  made  him  what  he  was.  We  have  seen  the  father  leaving 
his  native  parish  for  the  Lowlands,  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  of 


10  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  gospel.  But  that  Providence,  "  in  whose  hands  are  our 
times,"  and  who  ordereth  even  the  fall  of  a  sparrow,  brought 
him  south  at  the  very  time  that  these  events  were  exciting 
public  interest,  and  placed  him  in  circumstances  where  his 
attention  could  not  fail  to  be  directed  to  them.  In  his  wise 
guidance  he  was  led  to  a  place  of  sojourn,  only  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant from  Stirling,  the  scene  of  Ebenczer  Erskine's  ministra- 
tions, and  to  a  master  who  was  a  cordial  friend  to  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel.  Among  the  crowds  who  flocked  to  hear  Mr. 
Erskinc  in  Stirling  was  this  man,  whose  name  has  passed  away, 
and  he  frequently  took  his  Highland  servant  with  him.  These 
meetings  were  scenes  of  spiritual  refreshing  to  multitudes  of 
God's  people,  and  many  wanderers  were  gathered  into  the  Re- 
deemer's fold.  ''When  God  writes  the  people,  he  will  count 
that  this  man  and  that  man  was  born  there."  And  among  the 
number  of  those  who  at  the  final  account  will  be  reckoned  as 
seals  for  the  ministry  of  Ebenczer  Erskinc  will  be  the  name 
of  James  Drummond.  We  know  not  the  exact  circumstances 
in  which  the  saving  change  took  place,  whether  he  was  suddenly 
aroused  from  carelessness,  or  whether  gradually  enlightened ; 
but  we  have  it  on  undoubted  authority,  that  it  was  by  his 
preaching  that  he  was  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  "  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus."  He  could  not  but  be  attracted  by  the  preach- 
ing of  Mr.  Erskine,  who  is  described  by  his  contemporaries  as 
of  an  appearance  so  majestic  and  noble  as  to  command  both  re- 
spect and  affection,  while  his  pi'eaching  was  characterized  by 
tender  and  pathetic  appeal,  and  clear  exposition  of  gospel 
truth ;  but  as  he  became  spiritually  enlightened,  he  was  also 
drawn  by  the  spirit  which  his  hearers  discovered.  "  One  thing 
says  Mr.  Gilfillan,  "  that  greatly  contributed  to  his  leaving  the 
Established  Church,  was  the  dryness,  as  he  called  it,  of  the 
ministers  he  heard,  and  the  carnal  conversation  of  the  people 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  When  he  sat  in  what  was  then  called  the 
servants'  loft  at  Alloa,  before  public  worship  began,  nothing 
was  heard  but  the  news  of  the  country  and  the  idle  chit-chat 
of  the  past  week :  but  when  be  went  to  Stirling  or  returned 


REV.   JA3IES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  11 

from  it,  the  savour  of  Christ's  knowledge  was  diffused  all  around. 
They  "  took  sweet  counsel  together  as  they  went  to  the  House 
of  God  in  company."  Under  such  preaching  and  in  such  so- 
ciety he  gradually  increased  in  the  knowledge  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel,  and  also  of  the  ecclesiastical  state  of  Scotland; 
and  his  sympathies  gradually  gathered  round  the  men,  who  had 
made  so  noble  a  stand  for  an  unfettered  gospel  and  for  popular 
rights  against  the  defections  of  the  time.  And  "  having  first 
given  liimself  to  the  Lord,"  he  joined  himself  to  those  who  were 
holding  aloft  the  banner  of  truth  and  spiritual  freedom. 

But  the  event  which  particularly  impressed  his  mind,  and  if 
it  did  not  determine  his  choice  in  favour  of  the  Secession,  at 
least  confirmed  and  established  it,  was  the  scene  which  occurred 
on  the  expulsion  of  E.  Erskine  from  his  church.  For  some 
years  after  the  suspension  of  the  "  four  brethren,"  they  con- 
tinued to  occupy  undisturbed  the  parish  churches,  in  which 
they  had  formerly  preached,  although  they  had  been  joined  by 
four  others,  and  were  engaged  in  measures  for  training  a  go.*pel 
ministry,  and  for  supplying  various  parts  of  Scotland  with  gos- 
pel ordinances.  At  length  however,  in  the  year  1740,  the  whole 
eight  were  cast  out  of  the  Church,  and  deposed  from  the  min- 
istry, and  the  Assembly  immediately  gave  intimation  to  the 
magistrates  of  their  respective  burghs,  that  they  might  be  dis- 
possessed of  their  pulpits.  A  description  of  the  scene  that 
occurred  at  Stirling  we  shall  give  in  the  words  of  a  recent  popu- 
lar writer  : 

"At  Stirling  on  the  first  Lord's  day  after  Mr.  Erskine's  de- 
position, the  church  bells  were  forbidden  to  be  rung,  and  the 
people,  on  assembling  at  the  usual  hour,  found  the  doors  of  the 
church  and  church  yard  made  fast  to  prevent  their  entrance. 
The  exasperated  multitude  were  about  to  proceed  to  violent 
measures  to  effect  their  entrance,  but  their  venerable  pastor 
having  made  his  appearance,  and  expressed  his  disapprobation 
of  all  violent  measures,  succeeded  in  dissuading  them  from  the 
attempt.  Then  in  the  presence  of  the  immense  multitude, 
whom  the  interestinp;  occasion  had  brought  tosether,  he  lifted 


12  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

up  his  pulpifc  Bible,  which  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
times,  he  had  brought  with  him  from  his  house,  and  with  that 
majestic  manner,  which  was  so  natural  to  him,  and  with  awfully 
impressive  solemnity  of  tone,  protested  as  in  the  Divine  pres- 
ence, that  he  was  now  obeying  the  dictates  of  duty,  and  that 
not  he,  but  his  opposers,  were  responsible  at  the  judgment  seat 
of  God  for  the  scenes  of  that  day.  The  words  spread  a  thrill 
of  deep  emotion  throughout  the  vast  assembly — more  especially 
as  they  looked  on  the  gray  hairs  and  majestic  form  of  the  vene- 
rable sufferer;  but  every  thought  of  violence  had  given  way  to 
holier  feelings,  and  quietly  retiring  to  a  convenient  spot,  they 
listened  to  the  ministrations  of  the  dauntless  witness  whom 
they  now  began  to  regard  not  only  with  the  affection  due  to  a 
pastor,  but  with  something  of  the  veneration  claimed  by  a 
martyr. 

"  The  place  selected  for  the  solemn  service  was  such  as  to 
harmonize  with  the  state  of  mind  of  the  worshippers,  and  to 
provide  the  vast  multitude  with  a  fitting  sanctuary.  To  this 
day  the  visitor  to  Stirling  is  guided  to  a  verdant  and  elevated 
spot,  that  rises  to  the  northward  of  that  ancient  seat  of  kings. 
Here  with  the  frowning  ramparts  of  the  castle  rising  above 
him — rich  and  waving  plains  beneath,  amid  which  the  '  many 
linked'  Forth  seeks  his  majestic  way,  and  begins  his  strange 
and  mazy  circles  as  if  loath  to  leave  so  fair  a  scene,  with  far  in 
the  distance  the  noble  Grampians  raising  their  bold  and  rugged 
pinnacles  into  the  clouds — did  this  father  of  the  Secession 
gather  together  his  scattered  sheep,  and  rear,  as  it  were,  in 
visible  form,  the  standard,  which  bore  inscribed  on  it,  '  Christ's 
crown'  and  '■  His  people's  right.' 

"The  first  portion  of  the  60th  Psalm  was  given  out  by  Mr. 
Erskine  to  be  sung,  and  very  appropriately  opened  the  services 
of  the  day. 

'0  Lord  thou  hast  rejected  us 
And  scattered  us  abroad, 
Thou  justly  hast  displeased  been, 
Return  to  us,  0  God. 


REV".    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  13 

The  earth  to  trcmblo  tliou  hnst  made, 

Therein  didst  breaches  make, 
Do  thou  tliercof  the  breaches  heal, 

Because  the  land  doth  shake.' 


"  A  short  prayer  follov/cd ;  after  which  the  venerahle  man 
read  as  his  text  those  words  of  Matt.  viii.  27,  '  But  the  men 
marvelled,  saying,  What  manner  of  man  is  this,  that  even  the 
wind  and  sea  obey  him  ?'  The  sermon  which  followed  was  one 
which  those  who  heard  never  could  forget.  The  occasion,  the 
scene,  the  subject,  all  tended  to  elevate  both  speaker  and  hear- 
ers into  a  higher  region,  and  made  holy  eloquence  sound  like 
inspiration.  It  was  a  day  of  deep  and  varied  emotions.  Some 
were  saddened  to  tears,  when  they  thought  of  the  precious  min- 
ister whom  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  driven  from  her  pale, 
in  others  joy  in  the  truths  which  they  had  heard,  swallowed  up 
for  the  tim»8  all  other  feelings;  while  hoary  headed  men  felt  the 
recollections  of  youth  suddenly  revived,  and  those  who  had  been 
active  in  the  proceedings  of  that  day  seemed  to  their  minds  to 
have  '  served  themselves  heirs  to  the  iniquity  and  wickedness 
of  some  of  their  forefathers  in  that  place,  who  stoned  that  emi- 
nent seer  and  faithful  martyr,  Mr.  James  Guthrie.'  "  * 

Among  the  number  of  those  who  on  that  occasion  hung 
upon  the  lips  of  the  preacher,  and  whose  feelings  were  strongly 
excited  by  the  event,  was  James  Druniraond.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  tenderness  of  heart,  and  his  natural  feelings  were 
deeply  impressed,  so  that  to  the  latest  hour  of  his  life  he  was 
accustomed  to  speak  of  it  with  emotion.  He  had  by  this  time 
learned  to  value  the  truths  for  which  Mr.  Erskine  had  been  ex- 
pelled the  Church,  and  henceforth  he  cast  in  his  lot  with  the 
persecuted  remnant.  About  that  year,  we  are  not  informed 
whether  before  or  after  this  scene,  he  applied  for  the  privilege 
of  communion  with  the  Church,  and  was  after  due  examination 
admitted  by  Mr.  Erskine  himself     From  that  time  he  acted 

*  Thomson's  Early  History  of  the  Secession. 


14  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

through  life  the  part  both  of  a  consistent  Christian  and  a  firm 
Seceder. 

Soon  after  this  period  he  returned  to  his  native  parit^h  and 
settled  at  what  was  then  called  Portuiore,  but  where  now  stands 
the  village  of  St.  Fillans,  just  at  the  fuot  of  Loch  Earne  in  tlie 
parish  of  Conirie,  and  county  of  Perthshire.  He  had  left 
home  for  the  purpose  of  seeking  tlie  improvement  of  his  woiklly 
circumstances.  He  returned  with  a  treasure  more  valuable 
than  the  gold  of  Ophir  or  the  gems  of  Golconda.  As  tlie 
womnn  of  Samaria  went  to  tell  to  those  of  her  own  city  of  the 
Saviour  she  bad  found,  he  returned  to  his  native  parish  to  com- 
municate to  others  the  knowledge  of  that  salvation,  which  he 
had  received  during  bis  absence.  And  as  "  Andrew  first  find- 
eth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and  saith  unto  him,  We  have  found 
the  Messias,  which  is  being  interpreted,  the  Christ,  and  he 
brought  him  to  Jesus,"  and  as  Philip  found  his  friend  Na- 
thaniel, so  bis  first  efforts  were  among  his  relatives  and  friends, 
to  bring  them  to  Jesus.  And  his  efforts  were  not  in  vain. 
"  When  be  returned  to  the  Highlands,"  says  Mr.  GilfiUan,  "  he 
endeavoured  to  communicate  the  good  news  among  his  relations 
and  neighbours,  and  his  endeavours  were  not  without  some  suc- 
cess. A  few  came  forth  to  the  help  of  the  Lord,  and  a  seed 
was  sown  which  shall  not  be  destroyed,  we  trust,  for  ages  to 
come."  Whether  he  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  Secession 
into  the  pari.^b  of  Comrie,  wc  are  uncertain  ;  but  we  know  that 
he  was  among  the  first,  and  wc  are  assured  that  he  was  the  first 
in  that  quarter  of  the  parish  in  which  he  resided.  His  bro- 
thers and  friends  through  his  influence  became  Seceders,  which 
in  many  parts  of  Scotland  at  that  time  was  synonymous  with 
being  serious  Christians.  His  brothers  were  indeed  pious  men, 
and  it  is  believed  that  they  became  so  through  his  instrumen- 
tality. 

From  the  origin  of  the  Secession  there  had  been  in  Comrie, 
as  ia  many  of  the  parishes  in  Scotland,  a  praying  society,  and 
out  of  this,  as  in  many  other  instances,  sprung  the  Secession 
Congregation  of  that  place.     The  members  were  found  travel- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREOOR,  D.  D.  15 

ling  long  distances  to  obtain  that  bread  of  life,  which  was  not 
dispensed  at  home,  and  with  the  prevalence  of  "  moderatisni" 
in  most  of  the  parishes  of  Scotland,  their  attention  was  natur- 
ally directed  to  the  ministers  of  the  Secession,  among  whom 
the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  was  proclaimed  in  all  its  fulness 
and  freeness.  One  is  mentioned  as  having  frequently  travelled 
a'l  the  way  to  Dunfermline  to  sit  under  the  ministrations  of 
llalph  Erskine,  and  James  is  traditionally  reported,  as  having 
travelled  on  foot  all  the  way  to  Muckhart,  a  distance  of  over 
forty  miles,  to  enjoy  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  word.  Shortly 
after  his  return,  a  petition  was  presented  to  the  Secession  I'res- 
bytery  for  a  supply  of  preaching,  which  was  granted,  and  among 
others,  one  of  the  Erskincs,  we  believe  Ralph,  preached  occa- 
sionally to  them,  while  residing  there  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health.  At  first  the  prospects  of  the  cause  were  good,  several 
persons  of  influence  having  expressed  themselves  favourable  to 
it.  But  these  gradually  fell  off,  and  from  various  circumstances 
the  eifort  did  not  succeed  as  was  at  first  anticipated.  A  few 
however  remained  faithful,  and  amid  every  severity  of  cold  and 
rain  attended  upon  the  services,  which  were  held  in  the  open 
air.  In  1752  they  leased  ground  and  erected  a  small  place  of 
worship,  but  with  the  exception  of  a  few  months  in  the  3^ear 
1760,  they  were  until  the  year  1767  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Muckersie  of  Kinkell,  and  upon  his  ministrations 
James  attended  regularly,  and  always  spoke  of  him  in  terms 
of  the  highest  reg-ard.  "  It  was  a  gratifying  sight,"  says  Mr. 
Gilfillan,  "  to  those  who  can  enjoy  such  a  spectacle,  to  see  James 
and  his  wife  going  all  the  way  from  Loch  Earne  to  Kinkell, 
about  eighteen  English  miles,  almost  every  Sabbath  in  summer, 
and  they  were  commonly  at  the  place  of  worship  by  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  James  used  to  wrap  himself  up  in  his  High- 
land plaid,  and  going  into  the  church  in  winter  or  to  a  small 
grove  near  it  in  summer,  he  slept  two  hours,  that  he  might  not 
after  his  long  walk  be  overcome  with  drowsiness  during  the  ser- 
vices, and  then  rose  to  hear  the  word,  which  he  always  did  with 
great  eagerness  and  seldom  without  tears."     In  the  year  1767 


16  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

the  Rev.  Mr.  Barlas  was  ordained  minister  of  Crieff  and  Com- 
rie,  preaching  one  fourth  of  Iiis  time  at  Comrie  and  three- 
fourths  of  liis  time  at  CrieiT;  and  in  his  old  age  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  enjoying  the  services  of  a  pastor  in  Comrie,  the  kite 
Kev.  Sainuei  Gilfilian,  who  was  ordained  there  in  1791. 

The  following  notice  of  his  life  and  character  are  principally 
from  3Ir.  Gilfillun's  sketch.  lie  was  a  person  of  great  integrity 
of  mind  and  primitive  simplicity  of  manners.  His  name  among 
some  ministers  of  his  acquaintance  was  Nathaniel.  He  was 
much  given  to  the  exercise  of  prayer.  "  The  woods  on  the 
side  of  Loch  Earne,  if  they  could  speak,  would  testify  how  often 
he  wrestled  with  God  for  his  church,  and  especially  for  this 
benighted  part  of  the  country."  The  late  Dr.  Jarment  of 
London,  visiting  Comrie,  requested  a  grand-daughter  to  take 
him  to  the  house  where  James  lived.  She  did  so.  Only  two 
stones  were  left.  He  sat  down  on  one  of  them,  and  gave  ex- 
pression to  his  thoughts  in  the  remark,  "If  these  stones  could 
speak,  how  many  prayers  could  they  tell  of,  that  had  been  put 
up  within  those  walls  by  that  good  old  man  !" 

He  was  remarkable  for  his  reverence  for  the  Sabbath.  On 
that  day  he  had  family  worship  three  times.  On  going  and 
returning  from  church  he  was  always  engaged  in  religious  con- 
versation, and  was  disliked  by  many  on  that  account.  Not 
unfrequently  it  might  be  heard  said,  "  Here  comes  that  great 
Seceder,  we  canna  get  a  word  said."  His  warnings  to  the 
young  also  were  faithful  and  affectionate.  "  Children,"  he 
would  say,  "attend  the  Kirk  when  ye're  young.  I  found  it  easier 
to  go  to  Kinkell  when  I  was  young,  than  I  do  now  to  go  to 
Comrie." 

He  was  however  particularly  distinguished  by  his  earnest 
desire  for  the  spreading  of  the  gospel,  and,  though  occupying 
an  humble  sphere,  he  showed  it  by  his  personal  exertions  for 
the  conversion  of  those  around  him.  Many  a  dark  night  did 
he  travel  round  the  country  with  practioal  books,  in  order  to 
read  them  to  those  who  were  careless  and  ignorant,  and  leaving 
them  with  them  that  they  might  peruse  them  at  their  leisure. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  17 

The  Christian  Magazine,  then  the  principal  religious  periodical 
circulated  in  the  Secession  Church,  he  read  with  great  avidity, 
particularly  what  concerned  the  progress  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
The  tears  rolled  down  his  aged  cheeks  when  he  heard  of  the 
remarkable  success,  which  attended  the  labours  of  the  missiona- 
ries of  the  Secession  in  Orkney,  and  he  lived  long  enough  to 
hear  that  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  about  Moulin,  had  become 
the  scene  of  the  Redeemer's  power.  The  revival  of  religion 
which  took  place  in  that  part  of  the  country  under  the  late  Dr. 
Stewart,  Mr.  Gilfillan  was  accustomed  to  represent  as  an  an- 
swer to  his  prayers. 

Reserving  an  account  of  the  closing  scenes  of  liis  life  for 
another  part  of  the  work,  we  here  merely  notice  his  family. 
Shortly  after  his  return  from  the  Lowlands  he  married.  His 
wife's  name  was  Janet  Dochart  or  McGregor.  She  was  a  native 
of  Dunira,  about  half-way  between  Crieff  and  Comrie  ;  now  the 
seat  of  the  mansion  of  Sir  D.  Dundas.  She  was  a  woman  of 
decided  piety,  and  also  one  of  a  turn  of  mind  which  fitted  her 
to  be  a  help-meet  for  him.  He  was  a  man  of  so  gentle  a  spirit, 
and  so  interested  in  spiritual  matters,  as  almost  to  regard  his 
worldly  interests  with  carelessness.  While  industrious  and 
regular  in  his  labours,  he  was  so  free  from  anxiety  for  the 
things  of  this  life,  that  had  he  not  had  one  with  the  spirit  of  a 
Martha,  to  look  after  the  affairs  of  his  household,  his  worldly 
concerns  might  have  gone  into  confusion.  But  he  found 
in  her  not  only  one  that  feared  God,  but  a  clever  manager,  of 
active  habits  and  thrifty  care,  who  "  looked  well  to  the  ways 
of  her  household,  and  ate  not  the  bread  of  idleness." 

To  them  were  born  three  sons  and  three  daughters.  The 
daughters  were  all  married.  Two  of  them  died  in  Scotland, 
and  the  other  in  Canada.  Two  of  them  left  families;  some  of 
their  descendants  still  reside  in  their  native  parish,  but  the 
majority  of  them  are  either  in  Canada  or  the  United  States. 
They  have  generally  been  exemplary  in  their  lives,  and  most 
of  them  of  decided  piety;  some  are  filling  stations  of  respecta- 
bility and  influence,  and  several  even  in  humble  life  have  beea 
2* 


18  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

distinguished  by  remarkable  intelligence.  Of  the  sona,  two 
died  in  infancy,  one  from  sniall-pox,  the  other  from  scalding, 
and  the  third  was  the  subject  of  this  lueuioir.* 


*  In  preparing  tliis  chnpter,  I  have  been  indebted  among  other  works  to 
McKerrow's  History  of  the  Scecssion,  Thomson's  E;ir!y  History  of  tlie  Seces- 
sion, as  well  as  other  works  which  treat  of  the  Ecclesiastical  History  of  Scot- 
land in  thu  last  century  ;  also  to  a  notice  of  James  McGregor  in  the  Christian 
Magazine,  Vol.;  I.  to  a  similar  notice  of  him  in  Frascr's  life  of  E.  Erskine;  to  the 
memo  r  of  the  Rev.  Sam.  GHfillan,  by  his  son;  and  to  conversations  with  a 
grand-daughter  in  London,  C.  W.,  and  with  several  persons  resident  in  the 
parish  of  Comrie. 


REV.   JAMES    MACGllEGOR,   D.D.  19 


CHAPTER   II. 

FROM    HIS    BIRTH    TO    HIS   LICENSURE,    1759-1784. 

"  My  manner  of  life  from  my  youth,  which  was  at  the  first  among  mine  own 
nation  at  Jerusalem,  know  all  the  Jews."     Acts  xxvi.  4. 

The  Rev.  James  Macgregor  was  born  at  what  was  then  a 
small  hamlet  called  Portmore,  just  at  the  foot  of  Loch  Earne, 
in  the  parish  of  Comrie,  and  county  of  Pertlishire,  North 
Britain,  in  December  1759.*  The  spot  is  now  occupied  by  the 
village  of  St.  Fillans,  so  called  from  a  certain  saint  whose 
name  tradition  hands  down  as  a  resident  of  this  neighbourhood, 
who  in  the  days  of  his  mortality  filled  the  office  of  Prior  of 
Pittenweera,  and  afterwards  was  the  favourite  saint  of  Robert 
Bruce,  and  a  relic  of  whom  was  carried  in  a  shrine  by  the  Abbot 
of  luchaflfray  at  the  battle  of  Bannockburn.  Here  rising  from 
a  little  rocky  knoll,  on  which  two  indentations  are  pointed  out 
as  the  marks  of  the  knees  of  the  saint  at  his  devotions,  is  Saint 
Fillan's  Spring,  which  was  long  believed  to  possess  miraculous 
power  over  disease ;  and  even  yet  it  is  viewed  by  the  supersti- 
tious Highlanders  as  possessing  saintly  virtue. 

"And  magic  virtues  charmed  St.  Fillan's  Spring."  f 

*  After  his  death  a  paper  containing  the  following  in  his  hand  'writing  was 
found  in  one  of  his  books. 

"James  Macgregor,  D.D.,  Born  Dec.  1759. 
Came  here,  July  20,  1786. 
Was  here,  1830." 

As  he  died  on  the  3rd  of  March  of  the  year  last  mentioned,  it  must  have 
been  written  within  two  months  of  his  death,  when  he  was  calmly  waiting  the 
arrival  of  the  last  messenger. 

f  To  this  spring  Sir  Walter  Scott  refers  in  the  first  stanza  of  Mai-iuion, 


20  MEMOni   OF   THE 

That  district  presents  much  fine  scenery,  hoinp;  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  IIi<:hhinds,  and  blending  tlic  grandeurs  of  the  hill 
country,  with  the  beauties  of  the  Lowlands.  The  lake  itself  is 
a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  about  soven  miles  long,  gemmed  by 
a  solitary  islet,  and  lying  in  placid  loveliness  in  the  midst  of  a 
ring  of  heathy  mountains,  while  in  the  distance  are  seen  the 
summits  of  the  highest  mountains  of  the  ^Yestern  Highlands. 
"  There  are  few  Scottish  lakes  more  worthy  of  a  visit  than  Loch 
Earne.  Its  shore  throughout,  and  for  at  least  half  a  mile  in- 
land, is  clothed  with  thriving  copse  and  brushwood,  creating 
continual  changes  of  the  scenery,  and  a  succession  of  the  most 
picturesque  and  romantic  views.  Beyond  these  woods  on  every 
side  hills  and  mountains  arise,  piercing  the  clouds  with  their 
lofty  summits  and  adding  grandeur  and  sublimity  to  the  scene. 
Looking  from  either  end  of  the  lake,  the  view  is  peculiarly 
magnificent,  the  whole  valley  can  be  seen  at  once,  with  its 
enormous  vista  of  mountains  enclosing  all  around — the  trans- 
parent lake  which  forms  its  glassy  centre — and  the  beautiful 
fringing  of  wood  with  which  the  base  of  the  mountains  and  the 
shores  of  the  lake  are  adorned."* 

From  the  foot  of  the  loch  eastward  stretches  a  beautiful  vale 
or  strath,  commonly  called  Strathearne,  and  sometimes  denomi- 
nated the  Arcadia  of  Scotland,  faced  on  both  sides  by  extremely 
rugged  hills.  Issuing  from  the  loch,  near  the  village  of  St. 
Fillans,  the  river  Earne  finds  its  way  through  this  valley,  some- 
times amidst  forests  of  pine  and  larch,  or  in  the  shadow  of  per- 
pendicular crags,  or  again  stealing  through  a  wide  open  moor- 
land, with  a  few  patches  of  corn  diversifying  the  heath  and  the 
rocks.      About    six    miles    to   the    east,   where   two  mountain 


"  Harp  of  the  North  !  that  moulJorinp;  long  hast  hung 
On  the  witch  elm  that  shades  Saint  Fillan's  spring." 
And  Wordsworth  also  refers  to  it  when,  speaking  of  the  effects  of  the  restora- 
tion of  Popery  to  power  in  Britain,  he  says  that  it  would 

"  reconsecrate  our  wells 

To  good  Saint  Fillan  and  the  fair  Saint  Anne." 

*  Gazetteer  of  Scotland. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  21 

streams,  the  Ruchill  and  tlic  Lednock,  after  pourin<r  down  the 
ru<:L;ed  sides  of  the  (jrauipians,  in  many  a  cascade  and  with 
eternal  noise,  unite  with  the  river  Earne,  Iik.e  soldiers,  return- 
ing to  tlie  quiet  valley  of  their  youtii,  "  when  wild  w;ir's  deadly 
blast  was  blawn,"  stands  the  vilhige  of  C'ouirie.  The  liistrict 
lias  of  late  attracted  the  attention  of  the  scientific  world  by  the 
eartli(|uakes  to  which  it  is  frequently  subject. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  physical  appearance  of  the  country 
that  our  readers  may  have  some  idea  of  the  scenes  amid  which 
his  early  days  were  spent,  and  also  because  we  believe  it  had  its 
influence  upon  his  character.  Not  only  did  it  fondly  dwell  in 
his  recollection  afterward,  but  we  believe  that  it  tended  to  nurse 
tlie  poetic  fires  within  him,*  and  to  cherish  tliat  love  of  nature 
particularly  in  lier  grander  moods,  which  often  amid  his  pbysi- 
cal  toil  in  our  Western  wilds  kindled  within  him  the  warmest 
emotions  of  delight,  as  his  eye  rested  upon  the  glories  of  some 
of  our  American  landscapes.  Perhaps  also  it  tended  to  nurture 
tliat  peculiar  temperament  which  seems  characteristic  of  dwell- 
ers among  the  mountains — that  deep  sense  of  the  awful  and 
sublime,  that  veneration  for  the  mysterious  and  supernatural 
which  in  the  uneducated  gives  birth  to  the  fears  and  the  won- 
ders of  superstition. 

Throughout  the  length  of  the  valley  described,  were  at  that 
time  scattered  a  number  of  hamlets  of  various  sizes  occupied 
by  a  poor  but  industrious  population,  in  general  each  family 
possessing  a  small  house,  and  a  few  acres  of  land  called  a 
croft,  from  which  they  obtained  a  moderate  subsistence.  To 
this  class  belonged  the  parents  of  the  subject  of  our  menioir. 
This  system  has  of  late  years  been  broken  up  throughout  the 
Highlands  by  the  proprietors  forming  their  land  into  larger 
farms,  a  measure  which  has  caused  the  scattering  of  the  Hi<>h- 
landers  over  the  wide  world. 

Of  his  birth  or  the  circumstances  of  his  childhood,  we  have 
no  particulars,  except  one  which  has  come  down  to  us  by  tra- 

*  Cyledonia  stern  and  wild, 
Fit  nurse  for  a  poetic  child. 


22  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

dition,  viz.,  that  at  liis  baptism  his  father  rolemnly  dedicated 
him  to  tlie  work  of  the  Lord,  .sliouhl  it  be  his  gracious  will,  in 
the  ministry  of  his  Son.  As  already  nicritioiicd,  two  sons  had 
been  already  born  in  the  family,  who  did  not  long  survive. 
Whether  this  influenced  the  mind  of  his  father,  or  whether  the 
proceeding  was  merely  the  impulse  of  a  pious  heart,  we  know 
not:  but  it  is  delightful  to  contemplate  such  an  exhibition  of 
parental  piety,  and  to  behold  his  parents  manifesting  the  spirit, 
if  not  using  the  language,  of  Hannah:  "For  tliis  child  I 
prayed,  and  the  Lord  hath  given  me  my  petition  which  I  asked 
of  him.  Therefore,  also,  I  have  lent  him  to  the  Lord.  As 
long  as  he  liveth,  he  shall  be  lent  to  the  Lord."  And  looking 
at  the  subsequent  career  of  tlie  child,  we  cannot  help  remark- 
ing the  goodness  of  a  covenant-keeping  God,  and  pointing  out 
the  encouragement  it  affords  to  pious  parents  to  follow  a  similar 
course.  The  practice  of  parents  training  one  or  more  of  their 
children  for  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry,  so  common  among 
the  Scottish  peasantrj^,  is  one  which  God  has  been  pleased 
greatly  to  bless.  Doubtless  there  may  have  been  in  many  in- 
stances a  mingling  of  worldly  ambition,  and  it  is  sad  to  see  the 
useless  and  misspent  sacrifices,  that  have  sometimes  been  made 
to  train  young  men  for  the  ministry  whom  Providence  never 
intended  for  the  work.  Yet  when  such  sacrifices  have  proceeded 
from  right  motives — when  they  have  been  accompanied  with 
faith  and  prayer,  and  particularly  when  they  have  been  the 
result  of  a  pious  parental  dedication,  God  has  in  numberless  in- 
stances blessed  them  as  the  means  of  filling  the  ranks  of  the 
ministry  with  able  and  faithful  labourers.  "God  has  not  left 
himself  without  witness."  "His  faithfulness  to  his  household 
covenant,  and  to  his  New  Testament  Church,  has  been  signally 
manifested  in  a  long  line  of  ministers  parentally  dedicated  to 
him  in  this  holy  work.  From  Samuel  and  those  that  follow 
after,  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses  have  testified  of  these  things. 
It  has  always  pleased  God  to  propagate  his  church  by  means  of 
a  pious  posterity.  He  has  transmitted  his  gospel  ministry  by 
this  means.     The  sanctity  of  the  domestic  relation,  and  the 


REV.    JAMES    JMACGREGOR,    D.D.  23 

power  of  parental  influence  and  prayer,  have  been  employed  by 
him  for  so  momentous  a  result  as  the  recruiting  of  labourers 
for  the  harvest-field  of  the  world.  And  by  all  the  necessities 
of  his  church,  and  of  perishing  millions  in  all  lands,  he  calls 
upon  Christian  parents  to  lay  their  sons  at  the  foot  of  the  altar, 
and  to  crave  for  them,  as  their  high  Christian  birthright,  the 
distinguished  honour  of  serving  him  in  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation."* Our  own  church  exhibits  another  distinguished 
example  of  the  same  thing  in  Mr.  Geddie,  their  first  missionary 
to  the  New  Hebrides,  who  was  in  infancy  dedicated  by  parental 
piety  to  the  service  of  the  God  of  mis.sions,  and  who  has  been 
honoured  as  the  first  to  plant  the  gospel  among  a  new  and  in- 
teresting family  of  the  human  race.  "Were  the  same  spirit  more 
generally  prevalent  in  the  church,  we  would  not  hear,  as  we 
now  do  from  every  Protestant  communion  on  this  continent,  the 
cry,  "  The  harvest  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few." 

Of  his  early  days  we  know  little,  except  that  he  bore  the 
character  of  a  lively  and  active,  yet  gentle  boy,  of  very  inquisi- 
tive disposition,  and  occasionally  giving  evidence  of  a  quick 
temper.  Those  who  knew  him  in  after  years,  when  he  exhibited 
a  Christian  placidity  of  mind  which  scarcely  any  provocation 
could  disturb,  will  scarcely  credit  this  last  statement;  but  when 
they  remember  the  holy  fire,  unmixed  with  human  passion, 
which  at  times  burst  forth  from  him,  they  may  believe  that 
such  would  have  been  his  character  before  natural  tempers 
had  been  so  thoroughly  subdued  by  divine  grace.  Yet  in 
general  he  was  mild,  kind,  and  afi'ectionate,  and  though  posses- 
sing great  animal  spirits  and  forward  in  fun,  was  never  given 
to  wickedness.  From  the  account  we  have  given  of  his  father, 
wc  need  scarcely  say  that  he  enjoyed  the  inestimable  privilege 
of  pious  parental  training.  The  family  exhibited,  indeed,  the 
excellence  of  Scottish  piety,  as  delineated  in  the  Cottar's 
Saturday  Night,  which  might  well  lead  the  poet  and  the  patriot 
alike  to  exclaim, 

*  Jacobus's  Address  before  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh,  1857. 


24  MEMOIR  OP  THE 

"  Prom  scenes  like  these,  old  Scotia's  grnndeiir  springs, 
That  makes  her  loved  at  home,  revered  abroad." 

The  society  among  -whom  his  lot  Tvas  cast  was  of  a  similar 
description.  Mr.  Gilfilhin,  when  settled  in  the  parish,  a  num- 
ber of  years  later,  indeed  describes  the  inhabitants  of  the  par- 
ish as  "generally  prejudiced  against  the  Secession — the  present 
and  rising  generations  fatally  sunk  in  security — bent  on  all 
sinful  and  vain  diversions — averse  to  reading  and  enquiry — and 
angry  when  their  duty  is  told  them."  The  picture  seems  too 
darkly  coloured.  At  all  events  it  is  not  true  of  that  section  in 
which  Dr.  McGregor  spent  his  early  life.  It  is  generally  de- 
scribed as  a  quiet  neighbourhood,  with  but  a  scanty  population, 
and  this  generally  of  a  pious  and  exemplary  character.  Under 
such  influences  his  character  received  an  impress  of  goodness 
from  his  earliest  years.  In  the  kind  Providence  of  God  he  was 
never  permitted  to  run  the  course  of  youthful  folly,  so  frequent 
even  among  those,  who  have  afterwards  become  eminent  in  the 
Church  of  Christ.  Tiiroughout  his  curly  life  his  conduct 
was  characterized  at  least  by  morality  and  outward  respect  for 
religion. 

How  early  he  became  decidedly  pious,  we  know  not.  With 
that  modesty,  which  prevented  him  saying  much  of  himself, 
and  that  reserve  on  personal  experience,  so  characteristic  of 
Scottish  piety,  we  have  not  hoard  of  an  instance  in  which  he 
referred  to  the  subject.  But  from  his  enquiring  turn  of  mind, 
from  the  manner  in  which  religion  filled  the  mind  of  his  father, 
and  pervaded  his  whole  household  arrangements,  he  must  have 
h;nl  his  attention  directed  to  the  subject  at  a  very  early  age  ^ 
and  from  any  information  we  have  received,  we  are  inclined  to 
believe  that  he  was  one  of  those  who  are  "sanctified  from  their 
muthcrs'  womb," — that  the  seeds  of  religious  truth  took  root 
in  his  childish  mind  with  the  first  impressions  of  a  pious  home, 
and  the  first  instructions  of  his  parents'  lips.  For  this  we  have 
no  decided  evidence,  but  several  circumstances  induce  us  to 
regard  it  as  highly  probable. 

His  father  had,  by  attention   to  his  little  farm  as  well  as  by 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  25 

his  trade  as  a  weaver,  and  also,  ("tell  it  not  in  Gath,"  in  these 
temperance  days,)  by  keeping  a  still,  and  manufacturing  a  lit- 
tle whiskey,  provided  the  means  of  giving  his  son  a  classical 
education  ;  and  mindful  probably  of  his  early  vow,  at  the  age 
of  eight  years  placed  him  at  the  grammar-school  at  Kiukell. 
Here  his  father  paid  his  board,  but  he  was  not  allowed  to 
be  idle,  for  the  thrifty  wife,  with  whom  he  lodged,  imposed  on 
his  good  nature  by  obliging  him  at  night  to  reel  four  dozen 
knots  of  fine  linen  thread,  which  her  two  daughters  and  two 
servant  girls  had  spun  through  the  day. 

From  this  period  he  was  little  at  home  except  at  vacations. 
He  also  attended  for  a  time  the  grammar-school  at  Dumblane. 
Of  this  period  of  his  life  we  know  almost  nothing.  All  his 
cotemporaries  are  gone,  and  we  have  not  met  with  any  who 
were  acquainted  with  him  at  either  of  these  places,  but  by 
those  who  were  residing  in  his  native  place,  he  is  described  as 
having  been  quick  to  learn.  The  following  incident  however, 
which  occurred  while  he  was  at  Kinkell,  is  of  interest.  He  and 
some  other  boys  were  in  a  boat  on  the  river  Earne,  and  some 
of  them  having  given  it  rather  a  sudden  swing,  he  was  thrown 
into  the  water,  and  immediately  sank  to  the  bottom,  where  he 
appears  to  have  been  deprived  of  all  energy,  and  remained  un- 
der water  seemingly  in  a  state  of  unconsciousness.  To  all  ap- 
pearance his  course  seemed  run,  but  God  had  destined  him 
for  other  work.  After  lying  for  a  few  moments,  the  thought 
rushed  through  his  mind,  that  he  was  a  great  fool  to  lie  there 
and  be  drowned ;  and  immediately  putting  forth  all  his  ener- 
gies, he  reached  the  surface  and  was  assisted  into  the  boat  by 
his  companions. 

From  Dumblane  he  proceeded  to  Edinburgh  to  attend  the 
University.  Here  he  passed  the  usual  curriculum  of  study. 
It  is  now  impossible  to  obtain  any  account  of  him  at  that  period 
of  his  life.  But  his  habitual  application  to  study  would  lead 
us  to  believe  that  he  would  be  at  least  a  diligent  student,  and 
from  the  strong  mental  powers  which  he  undoubtedly  possessed, 
and  his  extremely  inquisitive  disposition,  as  well  as  frona  the 
3 


26  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

evidence  he  gave  afterwards  of  his  attainments,  we  are  safe  in 
concluding,  that  if  he  were  not  a  profound  scholar,  he  had  in 
all  the  branches  of  education  made  respectable  progress.  We 
have  also  in  our  possession  translations  made  at  this  time  from 
some  of  the  Greek  Classics,  which  afford  farther  evidence  of 
the  same  thing. 

While  receiving  his  education,  he  was  supported  principally 
if  not  entirely  by  the  industry  of  his  parents.  While  residing 
in  Edinburgh  he  lodged  with  a  female  friend  of  the  family,  who 
did  his  cooking  for  him,  while  from  his  father's  farm  there  came 
meat,  meal,  butter,  &c.,  besides  articles  of  female  handicraft 
provided  by  the  thrifty  care  of  bis  mother  and  sisters.  In  that 
household  was  exhibited  the  spectacle  so  characteristic  of  Scot- 
land, where  the  industry  of  all  was  cheerfully  employed,  and 
sacrifices  cheerfully  endured,  with  the  view  of  fitting  a  beloved 
son  and  bi'other  (in  this  case  an  only  one)  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry, — all  their  toil  and  self-denial  cheered  by  the  hope  of 
seeing  him  filling  a  station  of  respectJibility  and  usefulness,  and 
their  piety  gratified  with  the  prospect  of  his  being  the  means 
of  advancing  the  lledeemer's  kingdom.  In  these  labours  and 
sacrifices,  the  mother,  as  was  natural,  was  the  most  forward, 
sometimes  almost  exciting  the  jealousy  of  the  sisters,  who,  as 
they  saw  the  best  ham,  or  the  best  of  something;  else  laid  aside 
for  ''James,"  would  sometimes  say,  "  Ah,  mother,  if  you  get 
James  provided  for,  you  don't  care  for  the  rest  of  us." 

We  believe  however  that  while  attending  college  he  partly 
supported  himself  by  teaching.  Sometime  about  the  year  1776 
(which  must  have  been  before  he  completed  his  college  curri- 
culum) be  taught  school  at  Glenlednock,  about  four  miles 
north  of  Comric.  Here  he  had  a  large  school,  and  was  much 
esteemed  as  a  teacher.  An  individual,  living  in  1856,  who 
attended  his  school,  and  in  whose  father's  house  he  lodged,  de- 
scribes him  as  having  been  an  active,  sprightly  lad,  full  of  life 
and  activity,  very  sociable  in  the  family,  and  so  full  of  fun,  as 
sometimes  to  elicit  a  reproof  from  the  grave  but  pious  old  man 
with  whom  he  lodged,  in  whom  the  vivacity  of  youth  had  long 


REV.    JAMKS    MACGllEGOR,  D.  D.  27 

since  passed  away.  "While  tcacliing  here  he  also  employed 
himself  in  translatinp;  the  book  of  Proverbs  into  Gaelic,  prob- 
ably for  the  purpose  of  improving  himself  in  that  language. 

Before  describing  his  Theological  course  of  study,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  give  some  account  of  ecclesiastical  affairs   in  Scot- 
land during  the  years  preceding.     In  the  preceding  chapter  we 
have  given  a  brief  narrative  of  the  origin  of  the  Secession. 
For  some  time  its  progress  was  rapid,  so  that  in  the  year  1744, 
it  became  necessary  to  divide  the  Presbytery  into  three,  under 
the  inspection  of  a  synod  called  the  Associate  Si/nod,  which 
held  its  first  meeting  at  Stirling  in  March  1745.     At  that  time 
there   were   reported  as  in   connection  with   the   body,   thirty 
settled  congregations  and  thirteen  vacancies  in  Scotland,  while 
already  the  cause  had  made  progress  in  Ireland.     But  already 
a  dark  cloud  was  lowering  over  the  infant  church.     A  vexatious 
dispute  had  been  introduced  into  Synod  respecting  the  religious 
clause  of  certain  oaths,  required  to  be  taken  by  the  burgesses 
in  the  cities  of  Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  Perth.     This  clause 
ran  in  the  following  terms,  "  Here  I  protest  before  God  and 
your   Lordships,  that   I   profess   and   allow  with   my  heart  the 
true  religion  presently  professed  within  this  realm,  and  author- 
ized by  the  laws  thereof;   I  shall  abide  thereat  and  defend  the 
same  to  my  life's   end,  renouncing  the   Roman   religion  called 
Papistry."     By  some  this  was  held  as  implying  an  approval  of 
the  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  against  which  the 
Secession  was  testifying,  and  they  therefore  refused  to  take  the 
oath ;  but  others  held  that  it  only  meant  the  true  religion  itself 
in  opposition  to  Popery,  and  therefore  were  willing  to  take  the 
oath,  or  at  least  regarded  the   point  as  one  on  which  conscien- 
tious  men   might  honestly  differ,  and  which   therefore  might 
properly  be  made  a  matter  of  forbearance.     The  controversy 
increased   in   bitterness  till  in  1747,  only  fifteen  years  after  the 
Secession,  they  split  into  two  sections :  those  who  condemned 
the  taking  of  the  oath  being  usually  known  as  Antiburghers, 
and  their   Synod  being  entitled  the  General  Associate  Synod, 
and  those  who  did  not  object  to  the  taking  of  it,  being  com- 


28  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

monly  known  as  Burghers,  and  their  Synod  bearing  the  name 
of  the  Associate  Synod. 

This  "  breach,"  as  it  was  long  called,  may  be  regarded  as  the 
one  great  blot  upon  the  history  of  the  Secession.  Division 
under  any  circumstances  must  have  been  attended  with  many 
evils,  but  in  this  case  these  evils  were  greatly  increased  by  the 
spirit  in  which  the  controversy  was  conducted,  angry  feelings 
were  excited,  the  friendships  of  years  were  severed — and  bitter 
recriminations  were  launched  against  each  other, 

"  Each  spake  words  of  high  disdain 

And  insult  to  bis  heart's  best  brother." 

But  while  the  "  contention  was  so  sharp,"  as  to  cause  the 
parties,  like  Paul  and  Barnabas,  to  "  depart  asunder  the  one 
from  the  other,"  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  much  of  their  pro- 
ceedings originated  in  a  morbid  conscientiousness,  which  feared 
the  admission  of  the  slightest  blot  upon  the  purity  of  their 
public  profession.  The  discussions  to  which  the  question  gave 
rise,  were  also  the  means  of  throwing  light  upon  the  important 
question  of  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate  in  religion,  and 
led  to  clearer  and  more  advanced  views  on  the  subject.  Thus 
the  way  was  prepared  for  that  great  controversy,  which  more 
extensively  agitated  Scotland  many  years  after  on  a  point  in- 
volved in  it,  viz.,  that  of  Civil  Establishments  of  religion,  and 
the  bulk  of  both  branches  were  led  to  take  their  position  as  the 
strenuous  advocates  of  the  most  entire  freedom  of  the  church 
from  all  dependence  upon  the  civil  power.  And  it  is  well 
known  that  out  of  the  latter  controversy,  usually  known  as  the 
Voluntary  controversy,  arose  the  far  famed  Non-intrusion  con- 
troversy, which  finally  issued  in  the  formation  of  the  Free 
Church  of  Scotland.  It  is  gratifying  to  observe  that  in  other 
ways  the  division  was  overruled  for  good.  Each  body  continued 
faithful  to  the  doctrines  of  grace,  and  the  liberties  of  Christ's 
people.  Each  watched  over  the  other^s  purity,  and  as  Paul  and 
Barnabas  on  their  separation  went  in  different  directions,  and 
thus  were  the  means  of  spreading  the  gospel  more  widely  than 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  29 

when  united,  so  the  separation  of  the  Scceders  was  the  means 
of  their  carrying  the  great  principles  for  which  both  were  con- 
tending, into  a  greater  number  of  places  than  would  have  been 
done  had  they  remained  together.  And  perhaps  it  saved  them 
from  tiie  persecutions  of  the  ruling  power.  It  has  been  handed 
down  by  tradition,  tliat  some  of  the  leading  parties  connected 
with  the  ecclesiastical  affairs  of  Scotland,  intended  to  use  their 
interest  with  the  Government  of  the  day  to  adopt  measures  for 
the  suppression  of  the  Secession.  But  that  when  they  heard 
that  they  had  split,  they  concluded  that  it  was  unnecessary,  as 
they  must  soon  be  destroyed  by  their  mutual  strife. 

We  have  furnished  this  account  of  the  division  in  the  Seces- 
sion, as  some  acquaintance  with  it  is  necessary  to  understand 
the  course  afterward  adopted  by  the  subject  of  our  memoir. 
For  the  benefit  of  those  of  our  readers  not  acquainted  with  the 
Ecclesiastical  history  of  Scotland  in  the  period  referred  to,  we 
may  remark,  that  the  course  of  the  Established  Church  was 
worse  instead  of  better  than  before.  Had  her  leaders  had 
"understanding  of  the  times,"  they  might,  by  timely  concession, 
have  at  least  checked  the  growth  of  the  Secession,  if  not  have 
extinguished  it  altogether.  But  the  very  opposite  policy  was 
adopted.  The  very  divisions  of  the  Secession  encouraged  them 
to  persevere  in  their  career  of  corruption  and  oppression.  The 
most  obnoxious  presentees  continued  to  be  forced  upon  an  in- 
dignant people — and  Presbyteries  and  presentees  in  some  in- 
stances could  only  reach  the  parish  church  under  the  protection 
of  dragoons,  and  under  the  same  care  went  through  the  mon- 
strous mockery  of  committing  to  the  patron's  nominee,  by 
prayer,  the  charge  of  the  souls  in  the  Parish.  Individual  mem- 
bers of  Presbytery  were  not  even  allowed  the  liberty  of  absent- 
ing themselves  from  such  unhallowed  proceedings ;  and  in  some 
instances,  where  a  minister  refused  to  take  part  in  such  a  pros- 
titution of  the  ordinances  of  religion,  he  was  summarily  de- 
posed for  his  so  called  contumacy.  It  was  in  this  way  that 
Thomas  Gillespie,  one  of  the  most  amiable  and  upright  men  of 

his  time,  was  cast  out  of  the  church,  and  became  the  founder 
3» 


80  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

of  the  Presbytery,  which  afterward  became  the  Synod  of  Relief , 
The  ruling  party  now  aimed  at  the  entire  suppression  of  popu- 
lar power  in  the  church.  Under  Principal  llobertson,  who 
succeeded  to  the  leadership  of  the  Assembly  about  the  year 
1763,  it  waa  boldly  proclaimed,  and  acted  upon,  that  the  call  of 
the  people  was  not  necessary,  and  that  the  presentation  of  the 
patron  was  sufficient  reason  for  the  Presbytery  taking  steps  to- 
ward his  ordination.  Of  those  in  the  church  who  after  the 
rise  of  the  Secession  had  opposed  their  efforts  to  patronage, 
some  like  Willison  had  passed  away  from  the  scene,  others  like 
Witherspoou  sought  in  America  a  free  field  for  their  energies, 
while  others  had  sought  in  one  or  other  of  the  Dissenting 
bodies,  that  relief  for  their  consciences,  which  they  could  not 
find  in  the  Establishment,  And  at  length  "Moderatism" 
reigned  undisturbed  over  its  whole  proceedings.  Under  this 
system  a  ministry  preaching,  to  use  the  language  of  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, "  a  morality  without  godliness,  a  certain  prettiness  of  sen- 
timent, occasionally  served  up  in  tasteful  and  well  turned 
periods,  the  ethics  of  philosophy  or  the  academic  chair  rather 
than  the  ethics  of  the  gospel" — a  ministry  that  after  subscrib- 
ing a  Calvinistic  creed,  taught  openly  Arminian,  Pelagian,  or 
Socinian  errors — a  ministry  oftentimes  not  even,  moral  in  its 
deportment,  filled  the  pulpits  of  the  Established  Church,  and 
by  its  deadening  influence,  was  destroying  vital  godliness  among 
the  people,  so  that  were  it  not  for  the  lights  kindled  in  Dissent- 
ing temples,  there  is  every  likelihood  that  evangelical  truth 
would  have  been  quenched  throughout  the  land. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  during  the 
youth  and  early  manhood  of  the  subject  of  our  memoir,  and  as 
he  watched  public  events  with  deep  interest,  we  need  not 
wonder  that  he  waa  by  examination,  as  well  as  by  education,  a 
thorough  Seceder.  But  it  is  also  necessary  to  remark  that  he 
was  also  educated  a  strict  Antiburgher.  At  the  division  the 
Erskines  took  tlie  liurgher  view,  while  Moncrleff,  then  Profes- 
sor of  Theology,  embraced  the  opposite  sentiment.  To  this 
party  the   congregation  to  which  Dr.  Macgregor's  father  be- 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  31 

loDged,  as  well  as  most  of  the  Seceders  in  that  quarter,  adhered, 
and  it  must  be  observed  that  this  was  by  far  the  "  straitcst  sect" 
of  the  two.  In  regard  to  intercourse  with  other  bodies  they 
took  ground  which  would  now  scarcely  be  taken  by  any  church 
in  Christendom.  They  avowed  the  principle  that  there  should 
be  no  communion  without  union.  So  far  from  allowing  for- 
bearance in  matters  of  minor  importance,  they  held  the  very 
making  a  distinction  between  essentials  and  non-essentials  to  be 
the  very  grossest  latitudinarianism,  and  forbearance  they  re- 
garded as  a  sinful  concurrence  with  what  is  evil.  Nay  farther, 
they  held  that  even  hearing  in  the  churches  of  those  who  did 
not  unite  with  them  in  their  protest  against  prevailing  corrup- 
tion, was  a  lowering  of  their  testimony,  and  becoming  partaker 
in  the  evil  deeds,  against  which  they  had  erected  a  standard. 
Following  out  these  principles,  they  would  have  refused  com- 
munion equally  with  one  who  swore  the  Burgess  oath,  as  with 
one  who  denied  the  atonement,  and  would  have  brought  under 
discipline  any  member  of  the  church,  who  would  have  heard  a 
sermon  from  a  parish  minister.  Notwithstanding  the  obliga- 
tion, under  which  Dr.  MacGregor's  father  lay  to  Ebenezer  Ers- 
kine,  he  was  thoroughly  trained  a  strict  Antiburgher.  Mr. 
Gilfillan  naicchj  remarks  of  him,  "  As  James's  temper  was 
rather  gentle  and  soft  than  bold  and  intrepid,  and  not  fully  un- 
derstanding the  terms  of  communion  in  the  Secession,  he  almost 
yielded  to  the  plausible  but  lax  opinion  of  hearing  a  good  ser- 
mon anywhere.  But  being  at  a  sacrament  at  Orwell  about 
that  time,  a  young  minister,  his  name  he  thought  was  Mr. 
Smyton,  obviated  that  difficulty,  and  henceforward  he  was  so 
fixed  in  his  principles,  that  nothing  could  shake  them  till  his 
dying  day."  In  these  strict  principles  his  son  was  trained, 
and  he  at  first  avowed  them  until  circumstances  led  him  either 
to  modify  or  abandon  them  altogether.  It  is  necessary  to  refer 
to  these  things  as  the  subject  will  come  up  in  a  subsequent  part 
of  the  narrative. 

After  completing  the  usual  college  curriculum,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  study  of  Theology,  under  the  Rev.  William  Men- 


32  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

crieff,  Alloa,  wto  had  succeeded  liis  father,  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Moncrieff  of  Abernethy,  as  Professor  of  Theology  to  the  Gene- 
ral Associate  Synod.  A  writer,  speaking  of  those  excellent  men 
who  adorned  the  early  history  of  the  Secession,  thus  describes 
him  :  "  One  of  the  most  amiable  of  those  excellent  men  was 
Professor  MoncrieflF  of  Alloa.  He  was  a  person  of  very  digni- 
fied presence,  but  of  great  kindness  of  heart.  Ilis  deportment 
was  in  every  respect  becoming.  He  was  admitted  by  all  who 
knew  him  to  be  a  man  of  great  piety  and  worth.  He  was  be- 
loved by  his  pupils  as  a  man,  admired  as  one  of  the  most  en- 
gaging preachers  of  the  day,  and  revered  for  his  qualities  and 
conduct  as  a  Theological  teacher.  His  prelections  were  dis- 
tinguished by  simplicity,  clearness,  and  precision,  both  of  style 
and  sentiment.  He  excelled  in  removing  the  difficulties  which 
met  him  in  his  course,  and  in  briefly  but  satisfactorily  refuting 
the  arguments  and  reasonings  of  adversaries." 

The  Hall  met  at  Alloa  for  two  months  in  Autumn,  and  the 
term  of  study  was  five  years.  During  the  vacation  the  studies 
of  candidates  for  the  ministry  were  prosecuted  under  the  care 
of  Presbyteries,  and  sometimes  young  men  were  taken  for  a  time 
to  reside  in  the  families  of  aged  ministers  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  their  aid  in  the  work.  We  do  not  know  the  exact 
date  of  his  attendance,  but  we  have  in  our  possession,  notes  of 
lectures  by  Professor  Moncrieff"  in  the  year  1781.  Neither 
know  we  any  thing  of  him  as  a  student.  All  who  were  in  at- 
tendance at  that  time  have  long  since  finished  their  earthly 
course.  The  only  memorials  that  remain  are  the  notes  of  Pro- 
fessor Moncrieff"'s  lectures  just  referred  to,  and  some  notes  of 
sermons  heard  while  in  attendance  at  the  Hall.  The  notes  of 
the  lectures  are  plainly  written  out,  and  give  in  short  compass, 
yet  in  a  very  clear  manner,  the  substance  of  the  lectures.  They 
show  his  orderly  habits  and  his  attention  to  his  business  as  a 
student.  The  character  of  his  mind  would  prepare  us  for  this, 
and  as  a  result  he  showed  from  the  time  of  liis  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try, a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptures  and  with  The- 
ology.    We  know  also  that  previous  to  his  arrival  in  this  coun- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  33 

try  he  had  particularly  attended  to  the  study  of  Hebrew,  and 
had  acquired  an  intimate  acquaintance  "with  the  language. 
This  attainment  was  by  no  means  common  at  that  time  in  Scot- 
land. It  is  mentioned  in  the  life  of  Dr.  Dick,  that  while  re- 
siding with  a  parish  minister  just  about  this  time,  he  surprised 
him  by  his  being  acquainted  with  that  language,  this  being  an 
accomplishment  which  few  or  none  in  the  district  but  himself 
could  boast.  We  have  in  our  possession  fragments  of  a  com- 
mon-place book  of  Dr.  MacGregor,  which  show  that  he  read 
the  language  critically. 

Of  his  mental  powers  at  this  time  the  only  specimens  we 
possess  are  two  discourses,  the  one  marked  ''Edinburgh  1781" 
on  James  ii.  24,  the  other  about  the  same  period  on  Rom.  iii. 
28,  an  Exegesis  on  1  John  iii.  14,  and  an  Essay  on  Baptism. 
These  would  pass  as  good,  and  we  may  say  as  superior,  in  any 
Theological  Seminary. 

Having  mentioned  an  Essay  on  Baptism  among  the  papers 
prepared  when  a  student,  we  may  here  remark,  that  at  an  early 
period  of  his  career,  his  mind  was  agitated  with  doubts  on  the 
questions  at  issue  between  Baptists  and  Pedobaptists.  In  the 
preface  to  the  treatise  published  in  the  present  volume  among 
his  remains,  he  remarks,  "  The  author  was  brought  up  a  Pedo- 
baptist,  but  in  consequence  of  reading  the  arguments  on  the 
Baptist  side  he  hesitated."  We  are  not  certain  as  to  the  time 
at  which  this  took  place,  but  it  is  understood  that  it  was  pre- 
vious to  his  arrival  in  this  country.  It  is  believed  that  for  a 
time  his  mind  was  strongly  inclined  to  the  Baptist  view  of  the 
question.  It  is  therefore  instructive  to  read  his  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  his  difficulties  were  removed.  "  He  searched 
anew  the  New  Testament  as  impartially  as  he  could,  and  with 
a  fear  lest  his  early  prejudice  for  infant  Baptism  might  mislead 
him.  Still  however  he  hesitated,  for  there  he  could  not  see  a 
clear  foundation  for  either  side.  There  he  could  not  see  a  com- 
mand for,  or  an  example  of,  infant  Baptism  so  plain  as  to  satisfy 
him,  nor  could  he  find  satisfactory  evidence  for  or  against  im- 
mersion, but  still  he  thought  that  all  light  on  God's  Baptism 


34  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

should  be  expected  from  searching  not  heathen  authors,  but 
God's  own  word.  Providence  having  led  him  to  notice  Paul's 
phrases,  '  doctrines  of  Baptism,'  in  Heb.  vi.,  and  '  divers  Bap- 
tisms,' as  the  words  should  be  rendered  in  Heb.  ix.,  he  was 
and  is  persuaded  that  he  found  a  clew  to  guide  him  into  the 
truth.  Paul  sent  him  to  JMoses.  To  Moses  he  went,  and 
among  his  Baptisms  he  found  one,  which,  as  he  believes,  the 
prophets  foretell  shall  continue  till  the  end  of  time.  Building 
the  instructions  of  the  New  Testament  upon  this  foundation, 
he  is  gati.^Ccd  that  sprinkling  of  infants  with  clean  water  is  an 
ordinance  of  God." 

His  views  on  the  subject  will  be  found  in  this  treatise.  It 
was  however  prepared  long  after,  being  one  of  the  latest  efforts 
of  his  pen.  But  it  embodies  the  views  which  he  held  from  the 
commencement  of  his  ministry.  The  reader  will  perceive  that 
they  are  entirely  founded  on  Scripture,  that  he  traces  the  ordi- 
nance, not  to  any  Heathen  practice  or  Jewish  tradition,  but  to 
the  appointment  of  God  under  the  Old  Testament,  and  finds 
the  same  institution  modified  under  the  New,  and  adapted  to 
the  nature  of  the  more  advanced  dispensation.  In  presenting 
this  view,  he  did  not  undervalue  the  arguments  commonly  used 
for  Infant  Baptism,  but  this  was  an  important  view  which  had 
been  long  overlooked.  We  have  been  pleased  to  observe,  that 
in  recent  discussions  this  view  is  beginning  to  receive  the 
prominence  to  which  it  is  entitled,  but  as  we  believe  that  he 
derived  his  views  entirely  from  the  prayerful  study  of  the  word 
of  God,  we  regard  this  treatise  as  aff"ording  evidence  of  how  a 
plain  mind  engaging  in  seeking  the  knowledge  of  God's  revealed 
will,  with  a  simple  desire  to  know  the  truth,  and  with  earnest 
prayer  for  divine  direction,  will  be  guided  into  the  truth.  "If 
any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether 
it  be  of  God."  "  The  meek  will  he  guide  in  judgment,  and  the 
meek  will  he  teach  his  way." 

From  this  time  his  convictions  on  the  subject  became  decided 
and  continued  unshaken  to  the  end.  He  used  to  say  that  he 
was  "  sure  that  tlie  Baptists  were  wrong."     One  said  to  him, 


REV.    JAMES    JMACGREGOR,   D.D.  35 

"  The  Baptists  think  that  they  are  right."  "  Yes,"  he  replied, 
"but  there  is  a  great  difference  between  thinking  and  being 
sure."  And  he  was  accustomed  afterwards  to  express  himself 
in  strong  terms  of  gratitude  to  the  God  of  truth  in  guiding 
him  to  the  conclusions  at  which  he  had  arrived.  He  however 
retained  a  warm  feeling  of  kindness  to  the  Baptists  as  a  body, 
wliich  he  afterwards  manifested  in  a  practical  manner  on  more 
than  one  occasion. 

We  cannot  but  remark  how  wisely  ordered  it  was  in  Provi- 
dence, that  he  should  thus  have  been  led  to  a  thorough  exami- 
nation of  the  subject.  A  large  proportion  of  the  ministry  of 
Scotland  have  not  completely  mastered  the  Baptist  controversy. 
They  are  seldom  called  on  to  discuss  it,  and  are  therefore  not 
always  ready  at  once  to  encounter  opponents.  But  in  this 
country,  where  the  Baptist  system  prevails,  and  its  advocates 
are  zealous  and  ready  armed  with  the  usual  plausible  but  super- 
ficial arguments  by  which  they  defend  their  views,  the  minister 
is  frequently  called  to  defend  God's  household  covenant  with 
believers,  and  to  contend  against  that  superstition,  which  at- 
taches so  much  efficacy  to  an  outward  rite,  according  to  the 
quantity  of  water,  and  the  mode  of  its  application.  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor,  during  the  course  of  his  ministry,  necessarily  came  fre- 
quently in  contact  with  those  who  held  these  views,  and  we 
cannot  but  re^-ard  it  as  a  wise  arrangement  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence,  that  he  should  thus  be  so  thoroughly  prepared  for  the 
work.  We  may  here  remark,  that  his  preaching  on  the  subject 
was  often  most  effective — that  it  confirmed  believers  in  the  doc- 
trine— removed  the  doubts  of  enquirers,  and  stopped  the  mouths 
of  gainsayers.  A  Wesleyan  minister  lately  remarked,  that 
"  the  only  time  he  had  ever  heard  him  preach  was  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  his  sermon  he  could  never  forget,"  and  we  shall  here- 
after accord  proof  of  his  success  in  quieting  agitation  on  the 
subject. 

We  have  thus  anticipated  what  properly  belongs  to  a  subse- 
quent portion  of  the  history,  and  we  therefore  return  to  con- 
sider him  as  a  student.     Durins;  the  vacations  of  his  college 


36  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

and  Theological  curriculum  he  was  frequently  about  home. 
He  is  described  as  then  being  "  a  fine  frank  lad,"  full  of  fun 
and  activity.  The  companions  of  his  boyhood  embraced  such 
occasions  to  meet  in  bis  father's  bouse,  and  he  would  keep  them 
the  whole  evening  in  amusement.  Those  who  knew  him  in  his 
later  days — who  recollect  the  deep  seriousness  that  pervaded 
his  whole  conversation — bis  objection  to  sinful  levity  or  even 
excessive  mirth,  will  scarcely  credit  this;  but  the  evidence 
upon  which  we  make  the  statement  is  undoubted  ;  and  those 
who  peruse  his  writings,  will  sometimes  detect  in  them  an  un- 
der current  of  mirth,  which  though  repressed  by  the  weight  of 
what  he  felt  resting  upon  him  as  a  minister  of  Christ,  occasionally 
came  to  the  surface,  and  in  the  company  of  his  familiar  friends, 
particularly  his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  burst  forth  in  a  rich 
fountain  of  harmless  merriment,  and  which  gave  in  after  life 
to  a  piety  of  the  deepest  and  most  earnest  nature,  an  air  of 
cheerfulness,  which  preserved  it  from  an}'  appearance  of  morose- 
ncss  or  gloom.  He  was  possessed  then  of  great  bodily  activity, 
and  was  a  superior  swimmer.  An  old  man  living  in  1857, 
pointed  out  a  tree  well  out  in  the  lake  to  which  he  used  to 
swim. 

At  the  same  period  be  is  represented  as  remarkable  for  a 
most  inquisitive  disposition,  "  searching  into  every  thing,"  as  it 
was  expressed  to  the  writer.  One  curious  example  of  this  was 
mentioned  at  Comrie.  On  one  of  the  neighbouring  hills,  was 
a  stone,  which  either  in  its  appearance  or  position  seemed  some- 
what singular.  Desirous  of  understanding  its  mysteries,  he 
engaged  some  men  with  a  bottle  of  whiskey  to  turn  it  over. 
They  did  so  but  found  nothing  under  it.  It  was  probably  con- 
nected with  some  superstition,  possibly  with  the  idea  of  money 
being  found  under  it.  From  the  same  inquisitive  disposition 
he  had  made  himself  familiar  with  the  superstitions  of  his 
countrymen  and  the  legends  of  his  native  district.  Of  these 
be  afterward  wrote  home  an  account,  which  is  now  not  to  be 
found.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  neighbourhood,  though 
not  connected  with  the  religious  history  of  Scotland,  has  many 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  37 

interesting  historical  associations.  It  was  the  scene  of  bloody 
conflicts  between  the  Romans  and  the  Caledonians,  and  it  was 
at  the  foot  of  the  hills  already  described,  that  the  conquerors 
of  the  world  were  arrested  in  the  career  of  conquest.  The 
battle  of  Mons  Gram  pins,  it  is  generally  believed,  was  fought  a 
little  to  the  east  of  Comrie,  and  some  of  the  hills  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood bear  names,  whose  meaning  in  Gaelic  commemorates 
the  contests  of  that  era.  The  district  also  has  associations, 
which  would  be  interesting  to  a  Highlander,  particularly  when 
the  spirit  of  clanship  existed  in  considerable  force.  The  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  his  birth  place,  was  the  scene  of  many  san- 
guinary conflicts  between  the  Campbells  and  MacGregors; 
while  eastward  of  Comrie,  is  the  village  Fiantiach  or  Fingal's 
house,  and  Cairn  Comhol,  in  memory  of  Fingal's  father,  and 
also  the  supposed  tomb  of  Ossian.  It  will  be  unnecessary  to 
inform  our  readers  that  he  was  too  true  a  Highlander  ever  for 
a  moment  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  Ossian's  Poems. 

During  the  course  of  his  Theological  studies  he  taugl*t  school 
at  Morebattle,  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  A  widow  lady,  living 
in  1856,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  James  Morrison  of  Norham,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Tweed,  a  few  miles  below  Berwick,  and 
niece  of  the  Rev.  David '  Morrison  of  Morebattle,  under  whose 
ministry  he  was  placed,  recollects  of  his  paying  a  visit  of  a  few 
weeks  to  her  father's  family,  in  which  he  was  much  esteemed, 
as  in  all  the  families  and  by  all  the  persons  with  whom  he 
privately  associated.  He  was  then  a  tall,  dark,  fine  looking 
man,  of  very  cheerful  disposition.  He  sang  Gaelic  songs  to 
them,  and  wrote  several  poetical  pieces  in  English,  which  her 
father  and  the  family  admired.  She  also  states  that  by  her 
father,  as  well  as  her  uncle,  and  the  other  ministers  of  the 
neighbourhood,  he  was  highly  esteemed  as  a  man  of  decided 
piety,  excellent  talents,  and  engaging  disposition  and  manners. 

He  also  taught  for  some  time  in  Argyleshire  with  the  view 
of  improving  himself  in  Gaelic.  Though  this  was  the  vernacu- 
lar language  of  his  native  district,  yet  the  dialect  spoken  by  the 
people  there,  was  not  considered  very  pure.     From  the  state 


38  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

of  the  Highlands  at  that  time,  with  but  a  small  proportion  of 
its  iiiiaisters  who  either  knew  or  preached  the  gospel,  and 
many  of  the  inhabitants  in  a  state  of  ignorance  and  supersti- 
tion, but  little  in  advance  of  what  they  were  at  the  time  of  the 
Keformation,  and  the  Secession  having  few  Gaelic  preachers 
and  anxious  to  add  to  their  number,  he  felt  himself  called  in 
the  Providence  of  God,  as  well  as  impelled  by  his  affection  for 
"  his  brethren,  his  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh,"  to  preach 
the  gospel  among  his  Highland  countrymen.  And  in  order 
that  he  might  be  "  thoroughly  furnished"  for  the  work,  he 
took  a  school  in  the  "Western  Highlands,  where  he  had  oppoi'- 
tunity  of  making  himself  master  of  the  language,  probably 
where  some  eminent  Gaelic  scholars  resided.  We  may  men- 
tion that,  as  the  result  of  his  attention  to  the  subject,  he  be- 
came one  of  the  most  thorough  Gaelic  scholars  of  his  day 
whether  in  Britain  or  America. 

He  did  not  however  disdain  humbler  occupations.  There  is 
in  the  possession  of  his  family  a  large  map  of  Perthshire,  which 
he  purchased  several  years  after  he  came  to  Nova  Scotia,  and 
he  informed  his  fiimily,  that  he  had  acted  as  chain  bearer  in  the 
surveys,  upon  which  it  was  made. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here  that  he  had  somewhat  of  a  philo- 
logical taste  ;  and  having  made  himself  an  excellent  Hebrew 
scliolar,  and  at  the  same  time  studying  his  native  tongue,  not 
in  a  superficial  manner,  but  in  its  scientific  construction,  he  be- 
came convinced  of  the  existence  of  certain  radical  affinities  be- 
tween these  two  languages.  This  was  afterward  brought  before 
the  public  by  Dr.  Jamieson,  in  his  learned  work  entitled  Her- 
mes Scythicus.  In  a  letter  to  the  Doctor,  accompanying  a  copy 
of  this  book  as  a  present,  Dr.  J.  says,  "  It  will  remind  you  of 
our  old  lucubrations  about  the  Hebrew  and  Gaelic."  It  has 
come  down  to  us  as  a  dim  tradition  that  his  investigations  on 
this  subject,  previous  to  his  coming  to  this  country,  were  likely 
to  have  given  him  a  name  among  the  literati  of  his  country, 
though  from  his  great  modesty,  he  never  spoke  of  it  himself. 

His  naturally  inquisitive  disposition  and  warm  aflfcction  for 


REV.    JAMES    JIACGREGOH,    D.D.  39 

his  Highland  countrymen,  also  led  him  to  enquire  into  the 
histoiy  and  characteristics  of  the-  various  Highland  clans. 
Keference  to  these  will  be  found  in  one  of  his  Gaelic  poems,  to 
bo  referred  to  hereafter.  The  same  feeling  led  liiiu  nbout  this 
period  to  resume  the  patronymic  of  his  ancestors.  It  is  well 
known  that  the  clan  Gregor  had  been  outlawed,  and  that  it  was 
for  a  time  unlawful  even  to  use  the  name.  His  father's  family 
h:ul  in  consequence  for  several  generations  borne  the  name  of 
])runi!nond.  But  having  evidence  from  written  documents  or 
authentic  tradition,  that  they  were  genuine  members  of  this 
celebrated  clan,  he  took  their  name,  though  his  relations  gene- 
rally continued  to  be  known  as  Drummonds.  Having  referred 
to  the  warmth  of  his  feelings  as  a  Highlander,  we  may  insert 
here  a  draft  of  a  letter,  though  written  after  he  was  licensed, 
addressed  to  a  clergyman  in  the  north,  of  the  name  of  Mac- 
Gregor,  which  we  have  deciphered  from  his  sh.ort  hand  JMS. 

Rev.  Sir — Pardon  the  presumption  of  an  unknov/n  )'oung'  clergyman, 
wlio  ti-oubles  you  for  once  with  liis  corrcspondencL'.  The  cliiof  reason  for 
my  writhig  to  you  is  my  joy  for  having  found  a  niinisLcr  of  my  own  clan, 
for  I  am  a  I\IacGregor,  and  I  hear  that  you  are  of  the  same  clan.  I 
never  knew  any  minister  of  my  own  clan,  but  IMr.  J.,  to  whose  kindness 
I  am  much  obliged,  until  in  June  last,  being  in  the  north  country,  I  heard 

of  you,     I  was  north  at  N ,*  and  on  my  way  back,  I  fJjund  that  the 

landlord  at  A.  v/as  a  MacGrcgor,  on  which  account  I  called  for  him,  and 
Iiad  a  little  conversation  v/ith  him,  and  he  told  me  particularly  concerning 
3'^ou.  I  rejoiced  as  soon  as  I  heard  it.  I  was  in  haste,  being  obliged  to 
be  in  CricfF  against  Sabbatli,  and  on  that  account  did  not  call  upon  you. 
Yet  notwithstanding  I  am  now  sorry  that  I  did  it  not,  for  I  found  a  Mac- 
Grcgor in  G ,  who  is  acquainted  with  your  Character  at  least,  and  re- 
commended your  acquaintance  to  me,  and  blamed  me  for  not  calling.  I 
cannot  help  this  now,  but  if  I  come  to  the  north  again,  I  shall  probably 
sec  you.  The  only  rejjaration  that  I  can  make  at  present,  is  to  trouble 
you  with  these  few  lines,  by  means  of  an  acquaintance  that  is  passing  tlic 
road. 

I  am  truly  glad  to  find  a  Mr.cGrcgor  of  ynur  charr.ctcr,  for  though  our 
clan  were  treated  worse  than  they  deserved  at  the  l.ands  of  men,  3'et  I 
believe  they  never  were,  any  more  than  the  rest  of  the  clans,  very  reli- 
gious. It  is  good  tliat  there  are  now  religious  p.  rsons  anio:igst  thcin,  cspe. 
cially  tiiat  there  arc  some  wliosc  office  it  is  to  prcacli  Christ's  gospel,  and 


40  MEMOIR   OF   TUB 

to  declare  to  sinners,  the  gift  of  God,  eternal  life.  Let  us  rejoice  that  the 
grace  of  God  is  Iree,  free  to  tlie  chief  of  sinners,  and  let,  us  lahour  to  de- 
clare (?)  the  gl'^ry  of  God  and  do  good  to  the  souls  of  sinners.  I  shall 
think  myself  honoured  if  you  please  to  make  a  return  to  this  and  direct 
it,  J.  D.  McG.,  &c. 

To  make  the  most  of  the  scanty  materials  in  our  possession 
for  the  illustration  of  this  portion  of  his  life,  we  may  give  two 
extracts  from  letters  which  serve  to  throw  a  little  light  upon 
his  character  and  history  previous  to  his  arrival  in  Nova  Scotia. 
The  Rev.  James  Ptobertson,  of  Kilmarnock,  in  a  letter  dated 
June  1788,  says,  "  My  wife  presents  her  most  affectionate  re- 
spects to  you,  minding  the  time  when  you  burnt  the  candle 
and  beat  the  coals  to  read,  when  you  should  have  been  sleep- 
ing." And  Mr.  David  "Wallace,  writing  from  Paisley,  says, 
"  I  have  no  doubt  that  after  your  long  absence  from  this  coun- 
try, you  will  not  recollect  my  name,  but  you  may  perhaps  re- 
member that  when  in  Paisley  you  frequently  visited  the  mother- 
in-law  of  my  father,  William  Wallace,  who  as  she  had  but  little 
English,  took  much  pleasure  in  your  conversation  in  the  Gaelic 
language,  and  when  I  also  (being  then  about  five  years  of  age) 
had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  on  your  knee,  which  was  to  me  at 
that  time  sublime  happiness.  The  sentiments  of  regard  im- 
pressed upon  the  hearts  of  my  parents,  on  account  of  your 
kindness  to  them,  and  my  grandmother  mentioned  above,  and 
which  local  distance  and  length  of  time  cannot  obliterate,  are 
the  incentives  to  my  now  (at  their  desire)  writing  you." 


REV     JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  41 


CHAPTER     III. 
FROM    HIS    LICENSURE    TILL    HIS    ARRIVAL   IN    NOVA    SCOTIA, 

1784-1786. 

"  Go  yc  tlicrefore  and  teach  all  nations, — and  lo,  I  am  witli  you  alway,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  trorld." — Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

Having  completed  the  usual  course  of  Theological  study 
and  performed  the  usual  exercises  prescribed  as  trials,  he  was 
duly  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  we  cannot  exactly  ascertain 
at  what  date,  but  it  must  have  been  about  the  year  1784. 
From  memorandums  on  his  sermons  it  appears  that  while  a  pro- 
bationer he  preached  at  the  following  places,  Comrie,  Crieff, 
Kilmaurs,  Hamilton,  Brechin,  Paisley,  Dunse,  Peebles,  Dundee, 
Cupar,  Arbroath,  Auchtermuchty,  Kilmarnock,  Morebattle, 
Alyth,  Alloa.  Of  the  character  of  his  preaching  at  this  time 
we  cannot  now  get  any  account,  but  we  cannot  be  far  wrong  in 
supposing  that  it  was  similar  to  what  it  was  when  he  arrived  in 
Nova  Scotia,  viz.,  that  it  was  acceptable,  but  by  no  means  of 
the  eminent  character  by  which  it  was  afterward  distinguished. 
A  Mr.  James  Hay,  writing  in  1811,  says,  "I  have  never  for- 
gotten the  excellent  discourse  which  you  preached  at  Alloa, 
which  I  admired  very  much  at  the  time,  and  I  have  met  with 
little  since  that  was  not  contained  in  your  argument."  And 
the  Rev.  Alexander  Allan,  of  Capar-angus,  says,  "  Your  memory 
is  still  dear  to  some  good  people  here,  and  j'ou  have  a  place  in 
their  prayer?."  And  Messrs.  Buchanan  and  Pagan,  who  had 
been  employe'. I  as  agents  of  the  people  of  Pictou,  sny  in  a  letter 
to  their  constituents,  "  It  will  be   needless  for  us  to  expatiate 

upon   that   gentleman's  character  as  a  minister;    we  shall  only 
4* 


42  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

say  that  this  has  been  made  to  appear  in  such  a  strong  point  of 
view,  we  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  his  giving  entire  satisfac- 
tion to  your  congregation." 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  preparation  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  and  also  Avhile  engaged  as  a  probationer,  it  was 
believed  both  by  himself  and  the  Synod,  that  the  sphere  in 
which  he  was  called  to  labour,  was  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
But  the  Secession  had  made  but  little  progress  in  that  part  of 
the  island,  and  they  had  few  congregations  there.  The  most 
interesting  and  most  important  was  at  Chapel  Hill,  in  the  parish 
of  Nigg,  Rosshirc.  This  congregation  had  originated  in  the 
violent  settlement  of  a  minister  obnoxious  to  the  whole  parish. 
In  consequence  of  the  universal  opposition  to  him,  the  Presby- 
tery were  unwilling  to  proceed  with  his  ordination,  but  awed 
by  the  authority  of  the  General  Assembly,  who  significantly 
referred  them  to  the  fate  of  Gillespie,  who  about  four  years 
before  had  been  deposed  from  the  ministry  for  refusing  to  join 
in  such  an  act,  four  members  of  Presbytery  proceeded  to  the 
church  for  the  purpose.  They  found  it  empty,  and  were  about 
to  proceed  with  the  mockery  of  committing  the  care  of  the 
souls  of  the  parish  to  the  obnoxious  presentee,  when  an  aged 
and  venerable  man,  usually  known  as  Donald  Roy  (^Arujlice  Red 
Donald)  whose  name  has  been  made  widely  known  by  the  wri- 
tings of  one  of  his  descendants,  the  lamented  Hugh  Miller, 
stood  up  and  in  solemn  tones,  announced  to  them,  that  "  if 
they  settled  that  man  to  the  walls  of  the  church,  the  blood  of 
the  parish  of  Nigg  would  be  required  at  their  hands."  The 
members  of  Presbytery  awe  struck,  gave  up  the  work  for  that 
day;  but  under  the  fear  of  ecclesiastical  authority  at  head  quar- 
ters, they  accomplished  it  on  a  subsequent  occasion.  The  whole 
population  however  refused  to  enter  the  Parish  Church,  and 
after  vainly  endeavouring  to  obtain  relief  within  the  Established 
Church,  they  at  length  joined  the  Secession.  For  some  time 
they  had  been  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Patrick  Bu- 
chanan, but,  he  being  advanced  in  years,  efforts  were  about 
being  made  to  obtain  the  subject  of   our  memoir  as  his  col- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREaOR,    D.D.  48 

league  and  successor.  The  people  of  Comrie  also,  •who  had 
hitherto  formed  a  part  of  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev.  Jas. 
Barlas,  of  Crieff,  but  who  had  always  looked  forward  to  having 
a  minister  of  their  own,  were  making  an  effort  to  secure  his 
services.  We  believe,  however,  that  he  looked  upon  Nigg  as 
the  probable  scene  of  his  future  labours,  when  those  events 
transpired  which  caused  his  removal  to  Nova  Scotia. 

In  the  fall  of  1784  the  people  of  Pictou  had  sent  to  Scotland 
a  petition  for  a  minister.  It  was  entrusted  to  Messrs.  John 
Pagan  and  John  Buchanan,  two  respectable  inhabitants  of 
Greenock.  Mr.  Pagan  was  one  of  the  members  of  the  Phila- 
delphia company  by  which  Pictou  was  first  settled,  and  the 
owner  of  the  ship  Hector,  which  brought  to  that  place  the  first 
immigrants  from  Scotland.  Of  Mr.  Buchanan  we  know  nothing. 
The  dutj  intrusted  to  them  they  seemed  to  have  discharged 
faithfully.  They  were  at  liberty  to  present  the  petition  to  any 
Presbytery  that  they  deemed  most  likely  to  comply  with  it. 
They  held  various  consultations  with  ministers  of  different  Pres- 
byterian bodies,  and  had  their  attention  directed  to  more  than 
one  who  was  thought  likely  to  suit,  but  at  length  they  made 
proposals  to  him.  From  records  still  existing  it  appears,  that  he 
was  highly  recommended  to  them,  and  that  some  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  body  to  which  he  belonged  considered  it  his  duty 
to  accept  the  proposal.  Among  his  shorthand  MS.  we  have 
found  the  following  draft  of  a  reply  to  a  letter  submitting  the 
matter  to  his  consideration : 

"  I  received  yours  with  Mr.  P's  and  tlie  petition.  The  petition  breathes 
the  spirit  of  tlie  gospel  and  discovers  no  small  acquaintance  with  its  doc- 
trines. It  describes  so  fceling-ly  t!ic  case  of  tlie  people  of  Pictou,  tliat  I 
think  some  person  or  other  is  clearly  called  upon  to  go  to  their  assistance, 
but  I  am  not  so  clear  if  I  be  the  person.  I  do  not  wish  to  raise  cajjtious 
objections  against  it  from  a  desire  to  stay  at  home,  nor,  had  I  a  regular  call 
to  go  thither,  should  I  wish  to  disobey  it.  It  is  very  plain  that  I  cannot 
answer  any  petition  at  my  own  hand,  but  by  the  order  of  the  Synod. 
Thcre!ore  t!ie  Synod  must  be  in  the  first  place  petitioned,  and  if  they  ap- 
prove of  it,  I  should  probaidy  obey.  This  sets  aside  at  once  what  Mr. 
Pagan  says  about  sailing  in  the  beginning  of  March,  I  have  already  re. 
ceived  appointments  from  the  Synod  till  the  beginning  of  March.     And 


44  JIEMOIR,    or   THE 

though  that  term  were  out,  they  have  power  to  give  new  appointments.  I 
do  not  blame  Mr.  P.  for  wishing  the  petition  to  be  answered  so  soon,  for 
perhaps  lie  cannot  be  acqaaiiifcii  witli  tlic  constitution  of  the  Synod.  All 
tliat  I  mean  is  to  show  him  tlie  impoar.ibilily  of  answering  it  so  soon. 
Bat  when  Messrs.  R.  M.  and  you  earnestly  wish  my  con-.pliancc  with  this 
providential  call,  I  hope  you  mean  in  an  orderly  way,  viz.,  by  its  first 
coming  before  tlie  Synod.  At  the  same  time  it  is  doubtful,  if  Messrs. 
Buchanan  and  Pagan  can  present  it  to  the  Synod,  without  first  consulting 
their  constituents,  and  getting  their  approbation.  From  the  petition  itselfl 
it  appears,  that  it  was  never  designed  to  be  presented  to  the  Associate 
Synod.  Perhaps  the  petitioners  do  not  know  whether  tlierc  be  any  Asso- 
ciate Synod.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  petition  was  designed  to  be  jirescnted 
to  some  of  the  Presbyteries  in  the  Highlands,  where  the  probationers  un- 
derstood both  Gaelic  and  English.  Now  I  greatly  suspect  that  it  would 
be  irregular  to  present  the  jjctition  to  the  Associate  Synod,  beside  the  in- 
tention of  the  petitioners.  That  expression,  "also  to  strengthen  the  hands 
of  the  few  ministers  of  tlic  Presbyterian  denomination  already  tlierc,"  is 
certainly  improper  in  an)'  petition  to  be  presented  to  our  Synod  ;  thougli 
all  tilings  considered,  we  cannot  expect  it  to  be  otherwise.  If  the  expres- 
sion means,  as  is  wholly  probable,  a  strengthening  of  the  hands  of  the 
Presbyterian  ministers  there,  in  the  way  of  keeping  (?)  cliurch  communion 
with  them,  it  is  surely  beyond  the  power  of  the  Synod  to  answer  it.  The 
Synod  is  as  bound  to  protect  me  as  I  am  to  be  subject  to  them,  and  there- 
fore they  cannot  throw  me  away  beyond  their  own  connection.  Again, 
if  the  Synod  should  send  me  away,  and  require  of  me  not  to  join  in  com- 
munion with  the  Presbyterian  ministers  there,  miglit  not  the  people  justly 
sajf,  that  tiieir  petition  was  not  answered  and  on  that  account  refuse  to 
receive  me  ?  I  know  notliing  of  the  Presb3'tcrian  ministers  there,  but  is 
there  any  reason  to  hope  that  they  are  all  sound,  and  especially  that  they 
are  all  friends  of  a  covenanted  Reformation  ?  If  we  arc  to  judge  of  them 
from  the  Presbyteries  of  the  Establislied  Church  here,  may  we  not  con- 
clude that  there  is  only  one  here  and  tlicre  that  is  sound  in  the  faith  ?  And 
if  any  of  them  be  Arians  and  corrupt,  and  I  join  with  them,  how  is  it 
possible  for  me  to  escape  the  dangerous  infection?  I  know  that  "a  little 
leaven  leaveneth  tlie  whole  lump."  Mr.  P.  wishes  to  get  one  who  preaches 
tlie  doctrines  of  the  Westminster  Confession,  as  worthy  of  a  place.  And 
I  heartily  wish  that  whoever  is  chosen  may  in  tliis  respect  be  wholly  to 
his  mind.  I  believe  the  people  want  such  a  one,  and  he,  upon  your  re- 
commendation, takes  me  to  be  such  a  one.  Some  such  there  may  be  there 
already,  and  he  may  wonder  that  I  refuse  to  join  with  them.  But  I  flat- 
ter myself  that  Mr.  P.  knows  that  many  worthy  ministers  of  tlie  Cliureli 
of  Scotland  preach  these  very  doctrines,  and  yet  are  obliged  to  contradict 
them  in  their  practice,  by  giving  the  rigiit  hand  of  fellowsliip  to  false 
brethren,  and  by  sitting  in  judgment  with  tliem.  He  knows  that  tliis  is 
a  very  disagreeable  situiition.  I  wisli  ho  c.)uld  come  one  step  farther,  and 
see  the  (utter)  unlawfulness  of  it,  cspcciilly  after  a  remedy  is  provided,  as 


REV.    JAMES    IMACGllEGOR,    D.D.  45 

I  liope  is  done  in  the  Secession.     Then  he  would  sec  the  reasonableness 
of  my  shunning  sucli  a  situation." 

The  above  is  only  the  first  draft,  and  therefore  in  languajre 
and  composition  is  not  so  correct  as  the  copy  would  be.  But 
we  have  inserted  it  as  an  interesting  exhibition,  and  the  only 
one  we  possess  of  his  sentiments  at  that  time.  It  will  be  seen 
that  it  indicates  his  readiness  to  go  wherever  duty  might  call 
him, — that  he  held  himself  at  the  disposal  of  the  church,  and 
was  willing  to  submit  to  the  decisions  of  its  councils,  without 
any  sentimental  weakness  about  leaving  kindred  and  country. 
At  the  same  time  there  appear  scruples  which  in  the  present 
day  would  be  regarded  as  needless,  but  which  will  be  readily 
understood  by  reference  to  those  views  of  church  communion, 
to  which  we  have  adverted;  and  which  may  be  considered  as 
indicating  a  morbid  sensitiveness  about  compromising  the  in- 
terests of  truth  and  godliness,  by  any  fellowship  with  those 
who,  partaking  of  the  Christian  name,  were  yet  not  considered 
as  coming  up  to  the  same  standard  of  purity  in  doctrine  and 
practice. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter'  of  the  Rev.  Patrick  Bu- 
chanan, in  reply  to  one  of  his,  serves  to  indicate  his  state  of 
feeling  at  the  time  : 

"You  desire  me  to  let  you  know  what  I  think  of  the  affair  relative  to 
Nova  Scotia.  Really,  dear  brother,  I  cannot  attain  to  any  thoughts  about 
it,  worth  the  communicating.  My  mind  recoils  at  the  thouglit  of  one 
fitted  for  preacliing  the  gospel  in  Gaelic  leaving  poor,  desolate,  secure 
Scotland.  But  if  the  Lord  has  determined  your  future  labours  and  use- 
fulness to  be  on  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  we  should  certainly  acquiesce 
in  his  determination  as  he  shall  be  pleased  to  bring  it  about  in  his  ador- 
able providence,  and  say,  '  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.' 

"  We  know  not  however  what  may  turn  out  yet  before  the  meeting  of 
Synod  ;  and  if  they  shall  be  directed  to  appoint  you  to  remote  America,  I 
am  glad  to  learn  that  you  are  disposed  to  consider  it  as  the  Lord's  call  to 
you  to  go,  altliough  the  tliougiits  of  your  leaving  us,  I  confess,  very  sen- 
sibly affect  me." 

Having  referred  the  whole  matter  to  the  church  courts, 
Messrs.  Buchanan  and  Pagan  presented  a  petition  to  the  Pres- 


46  MEMOIR    or    THE 

b3'trry  of  Perth,  thnt  lie  be  appointed  to  Pictou,  accompanying 
it  with  the  petition  from  Pictou."'''  That  Presbytery  transmitted 
both  papers  to  the  Synod,  and  the  matter  came  up  for  conside- 
ration in  the  hi<?hcr  court  on  tlie  4th  May  178G,  when  as  its 
minutes  record,  "  Both  th'ese  petitions  were  read,  a  considerable 
time  was  then  spent  in  conversation  tojjethcr  and  with  Mr. 
MacGregor  on  the  sulijeot,  and  the  question  was  agreed  to  be  put, 
Grant  the  said  petition  and  appoint  Mr.  jMacGregor  accordingly. 
After  prayer  for  the  Lord's  countenance  in  the  matter,  the  roll 
being  called  and  votes  marlced,  it  carried  unanimously.  Grant 
and  appoint,  like  as  the  Synod  did  and  hereby  do  appoint  Mr. 
James  Drummond  MacGregor,  on  the  said  mission  accordingly. 
They  excu.^cd  ?ilr.  MacGregor  from  all  the  appointments  he  is 
lying  under  in  the  Presbytery  of  Perth,  except  the  ensuing 
Sabbath,  transmitted  him  to  the  Presbytery  of  Glasgow,  ap- 
pointed him  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  Jlatt.  xxviii.  19,  20  verses, 
a  popular  sermon  on  the  last  clause  of  verse  20,  an  Exegesis  on 
the  following  question,  viz.,  An  Chrishis  sit  Dni?,,  to  give  ac- 
count of  the  first  half  of  the  first  century  of  Church  History, 
to  read  the  first  Psalm  in  Hebrew,  and  the  Greek  Testament 
ad  aperturam  lihri,  before  the  said  Presbytery,  against  the  last 
Tuesday  of  this  month,  at  Glasgow,  at  which  time  the  Synod 
appointed  the  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  to  hold  their  next  ordi- 
nary meeting ;  and  they  appointed  that,  on  the  Presbytery's 
being  satisfied  with  Mr.  MacGregor's  trials,  they  take  the  first 
opportunity  to  ordain  him  to  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry, 
and  that  Mr.  MacGregor  take  the  first  opportunity  afterward 
of  setting  ofi"  for  Pictou  in  Nova  Scotia  to  exercise  his  ministry 
among  that  people." 

We  now  reach  that  perio^when  his  own  narrative  commences. 
We  shall  give  it  in  full,  only  interrupting  it  to  add  any  addi- 
tional facts,  that  we  may  have  learned  from  other  sources,  or 
such  information  regarding  points  touched  on,  as  may  serve  to 
elucidate  the  subject. 

'<  In  the  fall  of  17S4,  the  settlers  of  Pictou  sent  a  petition  to 
*  See  Appendix  A  and  B. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGUR,    D.D.  4< 

Scotland  for  a  minister,  who  could  preach  Gaelic  and  English, 
and  committed  it  to  the  charge  of  Bailie  John  Jjiichauan,  and 
Mr.  John  Pagan,  two  respectable  inhabitants  of  Greenock,  di- 
recting them  to  apply  to  any  Presbyterian  court  from  whom 
they  could  obtain  the  most  suitable  answer  to  their  petition. 
These  gentlemen,  after  consulting  with  one  another,  their 
friends,  and  ministers  of  different  denominations,  laid  the  peti- 
tion before  the  General  Associate  Synod  (Antiburgher)  in  May 
178(3,  craving  tliat  I  (being  the  only  preacher  under  tlie  in- 
spection of  the  Synod)  might  be  appointed  to  Pictou.  After 
some  deliberation  and  conversation,  the  Synod  unanimously 
granted  the  petition,  appointed  me  to  Pictou,  and  ordered  the 
Presbytery  of  Glasgow,  without  delay,  to  take  me  upon  trials 
for  ordination,  and,  being  ordained  that  I  should  take  the  first 
opportunity  of  sailing  for  Nova  Scotia. 

"  I  was  thunderstruck  by  this  decision  of  Synod,  I  by  no 
means  expected  it,  though  I  was  not  without  fears  of  it.  It 
put  me  into  such  a  confusion,  that  I  did  not  know  what  to  say 
or  think.  I  had  considered  it  a  case  clear,  not  to  myself  only, 
but  to  the  majority  of  the  Synod,  that  I  was  called  to  preach 
to  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland,  and  of  course  that  I  could  not 
be  sent  abroad.  I  had  never  met  with  an  event  to  deprive  me 
wholly  of  a  night's  sleep  till  then.  That  night  I  slept  none, 
but  tossed  upon  my  bed,  till  it  was  time  to  rise  nest  morning. 
Through  the  day  several  friends  helped  much  to  reconcile  me 
to  the  Synod's  appointment.  Upon  reflection  I  observed  that 
there  was  at  jDrescnt  no  opening  of  great  consequence  for  my 
preaching  the  gospel  to  the  Highlanders  at  home, —  that  souls 
were  equally  precious  wherever  they  were,  and  that  I  might  be 
as  successful  abroad  as  at  home.  I  resolved  to  go,  but  still 
overwhelming  difiiculties  were  before  me.  The  mission  wa^s 
vastly  important,  and  I  was  alone  and  weakness  itself.  I  had 
to  go  among  strangers,  probably  prejudiced  against  the  religious 
denomination  to  which  I  belonged.  Though  the  Synod  told 
me,  and  I  felt  it  comfort  too,  that  I  was  not  sent  to  make  Se- 
ceders,  but  Christians;  yet,  as  there  was  no  minister  before  me, 


48  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

except  two  or  three  Burgher  ministers,  nor  any  likely  to  come 
after  me  with  whom  I  could  hold  communion,  I  felt  as  an  exile 
from  the  church.  Besides  Nova  Scotia  was  accounted  so  barren, 
cold,  and  dreary,  that  there  was  no  living  in  it  with  comfort. 
Isa.  xli.  14,  was  my  comfort,  *  Fear  not,  thou  worm  Jacob,  and 
ye  men  of  Israel ;  I  will  help  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  and  thy 
Redeemer,  the  Holy  one  of  Israel.'" 

He  used  to  mention  that  when  hesitating  to  fulfil  the  Synod's 
appointment,  that  passage  of  Scripture  in  which  Jonah  was 
represented  as  fleeing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  was  per- 
petually upon  his  mind,  and  seemed  sounding  in  his  ears,  until 
he  wont  to  the  meeting  of  Presbytery,  and  gave  in  his  accept- 
ance, when  the  passage  went  from  his  mind  and  never  troubled 
him  more. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  proceedings  in  reference  to  his  de- 
parture were  rather  summary.  The  meeting  of  Synod  at  which 
the  appointment  was  made  took  place  on  the  4th  of  Ma}'.  No 
time  was  allowed  for  consideration.  He  had  to  fulfil  an  appoint- 
ment for  the  following  Sabbath,  and  yet  prepare  his  trials  for 
ordination,  and  make  all  his  preparations  for  departure  before 
the  30th  of  the  same  month,  when  the  Presbytery  was  to  meet. 

The  most  of  this  time,  as  appears  from  his  own  account,  was 
spent  among  his  relations  in  Comric.  The  intelligence  of  his 
appointment  not  only  filled  their  minds  with  the  sorest  distress, 
but  the  whole  population  of  his  native  place  were  affected  by 
it.  He  had  greatly  endeared  himself  to  all,  and  his  departure 
caused  a  grief  in  the  community,  of  which  at  the  distance  of 
seventy  years  the  memory  is  still  preserved. 

On  the  Sabbath  previous  to  his  departure,  he  preached  a 
farewell  sermon.  The  discourse  was  solemn  and  impressive, 
and  the  people  were  much  affected  by  it.  In  concluding  the 
services  he  gave  out  the  91st  Psalm  to  be  sung. 

"I  of  the  Lord  my  God  will  sny 
He  is  itiy  refuge  still, 
He  is  mjf  fortress  .and  niy  God 
And  in  him  trust  I  will. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  49 

"Assuredly  he  shall  thoe  save, 
Aud  give  doliveranco 
From  subtle  fowler's  snare,  and  from 
The  noisome  pestilence. 

"His  feathers  bh.ill  theo  hide  ;  thy  trust 
Under  his  wings  shall  be  ; 
His  faithfulness  shall  be  a  shield 
And  buckler  unto  thee,  Ac." 

"  It  was,"  says  Mrs,  Gilfillan,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Rev. 
Mr.  Barlas,  of  Crieff,  "a  very  touching  occasion.  He  was 
much  affected  himself,  as  well  as  all  that  heard  him.  His  text 
was  from  the  words  of  Hagar,  '  Thou  God  seest  me.'  It  was  a 
beautiful  and  serious  discourse.  He  left  Crieff  next  day.  All 
our  family  were  in  tears,  even  the  servants.  He  was  much 
about  our  house,  and  was  very  familiar,  and  very  amiable  in  his 
manners.  Going  out  as  a  missionary  to  that  untried  field  was 
thought  a  great  undertaking,  but  he  cheerfully  left  all  for 
Christ,  and  to  carry  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  that  desti- 
tute people." 

If  such  was  the  impression  which  his  departure  produced 
upon  the  mind  of  his  acquaintance,  our  readers  may  imagine 
what  must  have  been  the  feelings,  on  the  occasion,  of  his  father's 
family,  each  member  of  which  was  distinguished  naturally  by 
great  tenderness  of  heart,  and  whose  natural  feelings  were  sub- 
limated by  religion,  and  through  the  amiableness  of  his  charac- 
ter had  been  nourished  to  their  utmost  strength.  An  elder 
sister  felt  the  separation  with  particular  keenness.  She  was  by 
this  time  married,  but  had  no  children,  and  she  and  her  hus- 
band had  resolved  to  move  their  residence  to  whatever  place  he 
would  be  settled  in,  but  the  distance  to  which  he  was  eroino; 
precluded  all  hope  of  her  being  with  him.  His  father,  now  an 
old  man  whose  head  was  whitened  with  the  snows  of  more  than 
seventy  winters,  felt  the  pang  of  separation  from  an  only  son 
in  whom  his  strongest  earthly  hopes  and  his  dearest  earthly 
joys  were  centred.  But  a  desire  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
had  been  his  ruling  passion.     Preferring  Jerusalem  above  his 


50  MEMOIR  OP  THE 

chief  joy,  and  love  to  Christ  triumphing  over  parental  affectioD, 
he  was  enabled  at  the  call  of  God,  as  he  deemed  it,  with  a  faith 
like  that  of  Abraham,  to  lay  that  only  son,  like  another  Isaac, 
upon  the  altar  for  that  important  object.  "Though  he  felt," 
says  Mr.  Gilfillan,  ''the  ^'earnings  of  an  affectionate  father  over 
an  only  son,  he  cheerfully  acquiesced,  and  rejoiced  that  he  had 
a  son  honoured  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  dark  places  of  the 
earth." 

The  stronger  feelings  of  the  mother  did  not  so  readily  yield, 
and  his  strong  affection  for  her,  as  well  as  her  unwillingness  to 
part  with  him,  tried  him  sorely.  But  the  stern  sense  of  duty 
prevailed,  and  in  the  spirit  of  him  who  said,  "  What  mean  ye  to 
weep  and  to  break  mine  heart  ?"  he  replied  to  her  entreaties, 
"Do  not  seek  to  hinder  me,  for  if  I  remained  I  might  be  a 
heartbreak  to  you." 

We  have  no  particular  account  of  his  parting  with  his  rela- 
tives, but  it  was  a  scene  the  remembrance  of  which  hung 
heavily  upon  the  mind  of  each  member  of  the  family  through 
life.  His  father  accompanied  him  about  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  to  the  residence  of  a  brother-in-law,  and  then  returned  to 
spend  the  few  remaining  years  of  earthly  pilgrimage,  no  longer 
cheered  with  the  presence  of  his  son,  to  whom  he  had  looked 
as  the  stay  of  his  declining  years.  To  estimate  his  self-denial, 
we  must  not  judge  of  it  by  the  state  of  things  in  the  present 
day.  The  modern  missionary  enterprise  has  rendered  such  sac- 
rifices not  uncommon.  But  that  enterprise  had  not  then  com- 
menced. The  duty  of  surrendering  those  near  and  beloved  for 
the  cause  of  Christ  in  this  way  had  not  then  been  generally  in- 
sisted on,  was  scarcely  recognized  as  a  duty  resting  upon  the 
members  of  the  church,  and  by  example  was  almost  unknown, 
nor  had  the  church  learned  by  experience  the  blessed  reward 
of  such  conduct.  The  circumstances  too  in  which  his  son  was 
going  involved  a  self-denial,  such  as  parents,  who  now  give  their 
sons  to  the  work  of  the  Lord,  can  scarcely  know.  The  mode 
in  which  he  was  sent  out,  we  shall  presently  see,  was  in  marked 
contrast  with  the  manner  in  which  modern  missionaries  go  forth* 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREGOIt,    D.D.  51 

tlie  field  was  one  in  whicli  were  expected  and  feared,  if  not 
actually  endured,  more  of  privations,  with  less  of  the  comforts 
of  civilized  life,  than  in  ordinary  circumstances  may  be  ex- 
pected to  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  herald  of  the  Cross,  to  whatever 
part  of  the  world  he  may  go;  and  he  seemed  more  thoroughly 
secluded  from  the  world  than  in  any  modern  missionary  field — 
communication  more  difficult,  and  the  prospect  of  meeting  his 
friends  again  in  the  flesh  more  hopeless.  But  his  faith  failed 
not,  and  ere  long,  as  we  shall  see,  his  heart  was  made  joyful  in 
hearing  of  his  son's  being  the  honoured  instrument  of  turning- 
many  to  righteousness,  and  building  up  the  kingdom  of  the 
Eedeemer  in  the  land  of  his  exile.  Doubtless  too  he  felt  in 
his  happy  experience  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  "  There  is  no 
man  that  hath  left  house,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father,  or 
mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands,  for  my  sake  and  the  gos- 
pel's, but  he  shall  receive  an  hundred  fold  now  in  this  time, 
houses,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  and  mothers,  and  children, 
and  lands,  with  persecutions;  and  in  the  world  to  come  eternal 
life."  We  shall  notice  his  last  days  hereafter.  In  the  mean- 
time we  must  follow  the  young  missionary  to  Glasgow. 

"After  spending  a  few  days,"  says  he,  "among  my  relations 
and  acquaintances  in  the  parish  of  Comrie,  I  bade  them  a  final 
adieu,  and  repaired  to  Glasgow,  to  give  in  my  trials  for  ordina- 
tion. The  Presbytery  passed  them  easily.  I  was  ordained 
next  day,  viz.,  the  31st  of  May,  as  a  vessel  was  expected  to 
sail  for  Halifax  in  two  or  three  days,  and  no  other  opportunity 
of  a  passage  was  expected  that  year.  The  Rev.  James  Robert- 
eon,  of  Kilmarnock,  preached  the  ordination  sermon  from  Isa. 
Ix.  9,  '  Surely  the  isles  shall  wait  for  me,  and  the  ships  of  Tar- 
shish  first,  to  bring  thy  sons  from  far,  their  silver  and  their 
gold  with  them,  unto  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  to 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  because  he  hath  glorified  thee.'  It 
was  an  excellent,  exhilarating  sermon  on  the  future  success  of 
the  gospel  in  converting  the  Gentiles  from  their  ignorance, 
idolatry,  and  general  depravity,  to  the  knowledge,  love,  and  ho- 
liness of  God  in  Christ ;  but  its  principal  eflPect  upon  me  was 


52  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

a  depression  of  spirits  from  unbelieving  fears  of  my  weakness, 
as  if  God  could  do  nothing  by  my  means."* 

The  sermon  preached  at  his  ordination  greatly  interested 
him.  His  mind  reverted  to  it  when  enijaoced  in  his  arduous 
work  here,  and  he  wrote  to  IMr.  Robertson  very  earnestly  for  a 
copy  of  it,  and  urging  its  publication.  Mr.  Robertson  in  reply 
said  that  he  never  intended  to  publish  any  sermons  in  full,  if 
he  did  publish,  that  it  would  be  the  substance  merely  of  dis- 
courses, and  giving  the  general  observations  of  the  discourse  in 
question  as  follows  : 

1.  Though  the  kingdom  of  Christ  was  but  very  confined  for  a  long  pe- 
riod of  time,  yet  almost  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  there  were  inti- 
mations of  its  enlargement  and  increase,  Gen.  ix.  27,  xii.  3,  Abraham 
became  "an  heir  of  the  world,'"  Rom.  iv.  13;  Gen.  xlix.  10. 

2.  Many  of  the  promises  and  propliccies  of  the  Old  Testament  Scrip, 
lures,  had  a  very  glorious  accomplisliinent  in  the  conversion  of  tiie  nations 
to  Christ,  soon  after  liis  ascension,  Acts  viii.  1  ;  Isa.  ii.  3,  4;  Zech.  xiv. 
8;  Isa.  l.Kvi.  18-20;  Psa.  Ix.^xvii.  3,  4. 

3.  The  extensive  spreading  of  the  gospel  and  the  success  of  it  in  the 
world,  considering  the  means  and  instruments  whicli  were  employed  for 
that  end,  is  a  strong  proof  of  its  divine  original.  It  was  not  with  the 
weapons  of  Mahomet,  or  Antichrist.  It  triumphed  by  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  over  the  subtilty  of  philosophers,  tlie  craft  of  politicians, 
the  superstition  of  selfish  deceitful  priests  and  their  deluded  votaries,  the 
rage  of  persecutors,  the  deceit  and  fury  of  hell,  and  the  wickedness  and 
rooted  prejudices  of  men  of  all  sorts,  Zech.  iv.  7;  Rom.  xv.  19 ;  2  Corin- 
thians X.  4. 

4.  Though  the  boundaries  of  Clirist's  kingdom  may  at  times  be  con- 
fined and  tiie  success  of  his  gospel  not  so  eminent,  yet  his  work  of  conver- 
sion  and  edification  of  souls  in  faith  and  holiness  is  never  absolutely  at  a 
stand,  Psa.  xlv.  17,  xxii.  27-31,  Ixxxvii.  5;  Isa.  xlix.  20,  xxvii.  13,  lix.  19, 
20.  Christ  is  still  making  progress,  tipon  (he  word  of  (ruth,  meekness,  and 
Tighteousncss,  Fsa.  xlv.  3-5. 

5.  There  have  been  great  revolutions  in  the  world  to  promote  the  ad- 
vancement of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  there  will  be  as  remarkable  ones  as 
ever,  Isa.  xlii.  9-16,  xliii.  3-14;  Hag.  ii.  6,  vii.  22;  Psa.  xlvi.  8-10;  John 
xvii.  2.  Christ  is  guilty  of  no  usurpation  in  setting  up  his  kingdom  any 
where,  for  he  is  the  natural  and  appointed  heir  of  all  things,  and  makes  all 
his  servants  better  subjects  to  tlieir  natural  and  original  sovereign. 

6.  While  wc  should  be  thankful  for  tlie  Lord's  goodness  in  preserving 
the  purity  of  the  gospel  in  any  measure,  and  raising  up  any  friends  to 

*  See  Appendix  C. 


RKV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  53 

favour  it,  so  we  should  consider  tliis  us  tlie  first  fruits  of  a  more  glorious 
harvest  approaching^.  Great  events  have  often  small  beginnings,  1  Kings 
xviii.  44;  Exek.  xlvii.  1-11.     So  Isa.  xi.  7,  xliii.  20;  Psa.  Ixxii.  9-12. 

7.  In  order  tliat  tlie  gospel  may  be  published  and  Christ's  kingdom  en- 
larged, there  is  to  be  a  trade  set  on  foot  in  a  great  measure  now  unknown. 
in  cargoes  of  Bibles  to  the  barbarous  nations,  cargoes  of  ministers  and 
missionaries  to  them,  and  cargoes  of  them  by  sea  and  chariotfuUs  and 
litterfuils  of  them  by  land,  to  places  where  the  gospel  is  preached.  Our 
text,  Isa.  Ixvi.  18-20,  xliii.  14;  Zech.  xiv.  20;  Psa.  Ixxii.  10;  Isa.  xxiii. 
18;  Mic.  iv.  13;  Isa.  xlix.  23;  Psa.  vii.  27. 

8.  Those  who  are  the  friends  of  the  gospel  are  not  to  be  discouraged 
because  of  great  mountains  of  opposition  standing  in  the  way  of  all  this 
— because  in  the  light  of  sense  and  reason,  tiierc  is  in  the  complexion  of 
the  present  times,  little  which  has  a  favourable  aspect  this  way.  Our 
God  is  Jehovah,  Lord  of  Hosts,  almighty,  all-wise,  and  unchangeably 
faithful  and  gracious,  Zeph.  iii.  17;  Psa.  cii.  15;  Dan.  ii.  44;  Psa.  ex.  5, 
6,  xcvii.  5. 

Improve  the  subject,  for  thankfulness,  for  faith,  and  hope,  for  reproof  to 
those  who  pretend  to  pray  and  wish  well  to  the  gospel,  and  yet  arc  like  the 
Bishop,  who  would  give  his  blessing  to  the  beggar,  but  neither  sixpence, 
nor  penny,  nor  even  half- penny  to  him,  Psalm  xlv.  12,  for  encouragement 
to  those  who  are  sent  on  distant  and  difficult  missions  for  the  spread  of 
the  gospel,  Acts  xxii.  21 ;  Jer.  xlv.  5 ;  Psa,  Ixv.  5 ;  Dcut.  xxxiii.  27 ;  Jer. 
vii.  17,  18;  Matt,  xxviii.  20. 

Mr.  Robertson  was  known  as  a  man  of  strong  natural  powers, 
and  considerable  theological  attainments,  but  of  an  eccentric 
turn  of  mind.  But  we  have  inserted  the  above  sketch  of  the 
sermon  preached  on  the  occasion,  not  merely  from  the  interest 
■which  the  Dr.  felt  in  it,  but  as  an  indication  of  the  extent  to 
which  the  missionary  spirit  was  already  beginning  to  prevail  in 
the  body.  The  very  texts  assigned  him  as  subjects  of  trial  for 
ordination  evinced  the  same  thing.  The  great  modern  mission- 
ary enterprise  had  not  then  commenced.  But  its  light  was 
beginning  to  appear.  The  first  beams  of  the  coming  morn 
were  gilding  the  western  hill  tops.  The  more  intelligent 
minds  in  the  Christian  Church  had  felt  their  awakening  power, 
the  more  advanced  spirits  had  caught  the  inspiration  of  the 
approaching  day,  and  the  church  was  preparing  her  measures 
accordingly.  The  Secession  Church  showed  herself  to  have 
*'  understanding  of  the  times  to  know  what  Israel  ought  to  do" 

by  thus  early  directing  her  attention  to  the  destitute  beyond 
5» 


54  MEMOIR    OP   THE 

her  own  borders.  Thuci  she  was  not  only  the  principal  means 
in  the  hands  of  providence  of  preserving  religion  in  Scotland, 
when  spiritual  dcadness  had  settled  down  upon  the  face  of  the 
country,  but  of  sending  the  gospel  to  distant  regions  of  the 
earth. 

The  sending  forth  of  Dr.  MacGregor,  however,  was  by  no 
means  the  commencement  of  her  Foreign  Missionary  operations. 
For  years  both  branches  had  been  sending  ministers  across  the 
Atlantic  to  preach  the  gospel  in  the  new  settlements  of  the 
Western  Continent.  In  the  year  1753,  more  than  twenty 
years  previously,  the  General  Associate  Synod  had  sent  forth 
two  missionaries  to  Pennsylvania,  although  its  ministers  were 
then  few  in  number,  and  insufficient  to  meet  the  wants  of  the 
church  at  home.  And  she  continued  afterward  steadily  to  re- 
spond, to  the  extent  of  her  ability,  to  every  call  upon  her.  The 
example  was  followed  a  few  years  later  by  the  Associate,  or 
Burgher  Synod,  so  that  for  some  time  scarce  a  year  elapsed 
without  one  or  more  labourers  being  sent  abroad.  These  mis- 
sionaries were  the  means  of  planting  flourishing  churches  in 
many  parts  of  the  United  States  and  the  British  Provinces. 
Their  labours  were  principally  directed  to  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  and  Kentucky,  but  also  extended  over  other  States,  while 
in  many  of  the  older  settlements  of  Canada  West,  in  which 
Presbyterianism  now  prevails,  the  gospel  was  first  proclaimed 
amid  difficulty  and  trial  by  ministers  of  the  same  body.  Even 
previous  to  Br.  MacGregor  several  ministers  had  also  been  sent 
to  Nova  Scotia. 

But  it  is  necessary  that  a  few  remarks  should  be  made  here 
as  to  the  manner  in  which  these  missions  were  conducted.  In 
the  first  place  it  will  be  observed  that,  in  the  selection  of  agents, 
the  higher  court  exercised  the  right  of  disposing  of  its  mem- 
bers as  it  pleased;  and  any  refusal  to  submit  to  its  decisions 
"was  regarded  as  contumacy,  calling  for  the  heaviest  censure. 
Doubtless  this  power  was  at  times  exercised  harshly  and  in  dis- 
regard of  the  feelings  of  parties  concerned;  but  we  cannot 
help  regarding  it  as  a  salutary  one.     We  believe  that  the  church 


BEV.   JAMES   MACdBEGOR,   D.D.  55 

of  Rome  owe;  much  of  its  efficiency  to  the  spirit  of  discipline 
among  its  clergy;  and  wc  believe  that  there  will  not  be  the 
same  efficiency  in  our  Protestant  Churches  as  Missii^niuy  Insti- 
tutes, till  their  ministers  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  go 
wherever  Christ  may  call  them,  to  occupy  the  sphere  which  he 
has  appointed,  and  to  regard  the  decisions  of  the  church, 
arrived  at  after  due  deliberation,  under  the  influence  of  a  desire 
to  promote  the  divine  glory,  and  with  direction  earnestly  sought 
from  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  as  indicating  his  will  on 
the  subject.  It  was  in  this  light  that  Dr.  MacGregor  regarded 
the  matter,  and  to  this  we  may  say  that  we  are  indebted  for 
his  coming  to  Nova  Scotia. 

But  the  principle  adopted  in  conducting  their  missionary 
operations  deserves  particular  attention.  When  the  modern 
missionary  enterprise  commenced,  it  was  thought  by  many  wise 
and  good  men,  that  the  work  might  be  most  efficiently  per- 
formed by  voluntary  associations  of  Christian  men  belonging  to 
different  denominations,  self-organized,  outside  of  the  church, 
for  the  purpose.  In  this  view  the  General  Associate  Synod 
could  not  conscientiously  concur.  Hence  when  a  few  years 
later  the  zeal  of  the  church  shone  forth  so  brightly,  and  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  London  and  other  Missionary  Societies, 
they  as  a  body  took  no  share  in  such  movements,  though  indi- 
viduals among  them,  the  number  of  whom  increased,  became 
the  most  liberal  contributors  to  such  institutions.  The  reason 
for  this  was  to  be  found  partly  in  the  fact,  that  they  had 
already  been  engaged  in  missions  of  their  own,  but  principally 
that  they  did  not  concur  in  the  propriety  of  the  principle  upon 
which  these  associations  were  based,  and  the  measures  they 
adopted.  They  believed  that  Christ  had  committed  the  work 
of  spreading  the  gospel  to  his  church,  and  not  to  any  self-con- 
stituted society.  And  much  of  their  mode  of  management  they 
regarded  as  objectionable.  When  they  saw  committees  under 
no  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  and  properly  vested  with  no  eccle- 
siastical authority,  consisting  in  part  at  least  of  laymen,  select- 
ing agents  for  preaching  the  gospel   to  the  heathen,  sitting  in 


56  MEMOIR  OP  Tiia 

judgment  upon  their  qualifications,  and  even  ordaining  tliem 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  they  could  not  but  regard  such  a 
proceeding  as  an  interference  ■witii  the  order  which  Christ  has 
established  in  his  church,  and  the  basis  of  such  associations 
involving  such  procedure,  to  be  unscriptural.  These  views 
were  for  a  time  regarded  by  many  as  sectarian  and  bigoted,  but 
they  are  now  being  generally  adopted  by  churches  both  in  the 
United  States  and  the  mother  country. 

But  while  commending  the  principle  upon  which  the  early 
missions  of  the  Secession  were  based,  we  cannot  commend  the 
mode  in  which  they  were  conducted.  The  Synod  carried  their 
objections  to  seeking  notoriety  to  such  a  fastidious  extreme, 
that  they  published  no  reports  of  their  proceedings.  ]3ut  their 
management  was  chiefly  deficient  in  the  fact,  that  in  sending 
forth  missionaries  little  or  nothing  was  done  for  their  present 
or  future  comfort.  In  this  respect  the  circumstances  in  which 
Dr.  MacGregor  and  the  early  missionaries  were  sent  forth,  pre- 
sent a  strong  contrast  with  the  manner  in  which  the  modern 
missionary  goes  forth  to  his  labours.  The  latter  has  not  only 
his  passage  paid  to  the  scene  of  his  labours,  but,  at  the  expense 
of  the  church,  he  receives  what  is  necessary  to  equip  him 
thoroughly  with  what  is  necessary  for  his  comfort  and  useful- 
ness, and  a  board  at  home  are  responsible  for  his  subsequent 
maintenance.  But  when  the  first  missionaries  of  the  Secession 
were  sent  forth,  the  most  that  was  done  was  to  take  collections 
to  aid  in  payingc  their  passage.  These  were  often  inadequate, 
and  sometimes,  as  in  Dr.  MacGregor's  case,  were  not  made  at 
all.  And  no  provision  was  in  any  case  made  for  their  subse- 
quent maintenance.  They  were  sent  to  disheartening  toil,  to 
mental  and  bodily  privations,  in  a  low  state  of  society,  with  the 
country  still  a  wilderness,  and  left  to  obtain  a  maintenance  as 
they  best  might,  among  a  people  not  in  circumstances,  if  ever 
so  willing,  to  afford  th'!i;  ;iny  thing  but  a  scanty  support;  and 
sometimes  were  left  to  struggle  on,  uncheered  by  any  expres- 
sions of  sympathy,  affection,  or  encouragement,  except  from 
some  personal  friends,  whose  letters  coming  at  distant  intervals 


REV.   JABIES   MACQREaOR,   D.D.  57 

were  indeed  as  good  news  from  a  far  country,  and  ■with  none 
of  that  eclaf,  which  now  surrounds  the  missionary,  and  which 
it  is  to  be  feared  sometimes  acts  upon  his  mind  as  the  hope  of 
■worldly  glory  animates  the  earthly  warrior. 

It  is  but  justice  to  the  church  at  home  to  observe  that  the 
ministers  there  were  enduring  sacrifices  of  a  similar  kind.  The 
income  of  John  Brown  of  Haddington,  never  exceeded  £50 
per  annum.  We  have  seen  an  estimate  drawn  up  in  the  year 
1774,  of  the  contributions  of  the  two  Seceding  bodies,  in  which 
the  average  salary  of  their  ministers  is  estimated  at  £60.  A 
considerable  proportion  would  have  considered  themselves 

"  Passing  rich  on  forty  pounds  a  year," 

while  some  had  not  twenty.  The  people  adhering  to  them  were 
generally  in  very  humble  circumstances,  and  the  liberality  so 
characteristic  of  the  present  day  had  not  been  evoked,  and  it 
is  not  therefore  surprising,  that  little  efibrt  was  made  for  the 
comfort  of  those  going  abroad. 

Still  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  we  consider  the 
conduct  of  the  early  Secession  missionaries  to  Nova  Scotia,  as 
exhibiting  a  self-denial  not  surpassed  in  modern  missionary 
enterprises.  "  Had  the  toils,  the  perils,  the  sacrifices  of  our 
fathers  been  endured  under  the  light  of  the  Foreign  Missionary 
enterprise  in  some  of  the  high  places  of  foreign  operations, 
they  would  have  been  chronicled  as  martyrs,  and  if  not  canon- 
ized, they  would  have  at  least  been  made  immortal."  * 

In  Dr.  MacGregor's  case,  two  incidents  which  we  shall  now 
relate  will  be  suflicient  to  show  the  manner  in  which  he  came 
out.  When  leaving  his  native  place,  Donald  M'Nab,  a  brother 
of  his  second  sister's  husband,  asked  him  what  he  meant  to  do 
for  means,  he  replied,  "  Trust  in  Providence."  Donald  imme- 
diately responded,  "  Here  is  £20,  which  you  can  return  when 
you  are  able."  He  took  the  money  and  some  time  after  returned 
it.  The  other  perhaps  is  still  more  interesting.  One  of  his 
sisters  borrowed  two  guineas  which  she  lent  him.     He  some 

*  Speech  of  Rev.  J.  Waddell  at  Synod's  Missionary  Meeting,  1856. 


58  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

years  after  sent  her  £10,  wliich  she,  with  prudent  Scotch  care, 
put  out  at  interest,  and  in  her  old  age  the  interest  served  to  pay 
her  scat  vent  in  the  church. 

The  time  allowed  between  his  appointment  and  his  departure 
was  so  short,  that  the  family  had  not  time  to  prepare  an  outfit 
for  him,  but  during  the  following  winter  his  mother  and  sister 
W'cre  busily  employed  in  spinning,  weaving,  knitting,  &c.,  for 
him,  and  as  the  result  of  their  labours,  a  large  stock  of  such 
articles  of  bodily  comfort,  as  industrious  housewives  can  manu- 
facture from  the  produce  of  their  flocks,  or  from  their  flax, 
were  prepared,  and  sent  after  him.  And  it  may  be  mentioned 
to  the  credit  of  the  person  concerned,  as  well  as  indicating  the 
affection  and  esteem  which  he  had  won  by  his  amiable  disposi- 
tion, that  an  humble  seamstress  in  Crieff,  named  Jane  Salmon, 
considered  an  excellent  shirt  maker,  rendered  her  services  in 
making  his,  and  refused  all  comjiensation,  on  account  of  their 
being  for  Dr.  MacGregor. 

When  in  addition  to  the  ties  to  bind  him  to  his  native  land, 
and  the  unfavourable  circumstances  in  which  he  was  going 
forth,  we  add  that  the  country  to  which  he  was  going  was  then 
regarded  as  in  soil  and  climate  presenting  only  cold,  dreariness, 
and  barrenness,  scarcely  fit  for  human  habitations,  and  almost 
a  place  of  hopeless  banishment  from  the  Christian  world,  and 
that  the  modern  missionary  enterprise  had  not  familiarized  the 
church  iviih  the  idea  of  such  saci-ifices  for  the  sake  of  the  perish- 
ing, we  think  we  are  justified  in  saying,  that  he  exhibited  an 
example  of  self-denying  devoteduess  to  the  cause  of  Christ, 
which  may  be  placed  along  side  the  most  noble  instances  of  the 
kind,  which  the  annals  of  the  Christian  Church  record. 

Yet  never  did  he  complain.  Never  did  he  talk  of  those  sacri- 
fices in  ''  leaving  kindred  and  country,"  which  occupy  so  large 
a  portion  of  missionary  records.  He  was  too  strongly  influ- 
enced by  sense  of  duty,  for  sentimentalism  of  this  sort,  and  he 
had  suflicient  humility  to  follow  the  Saviour's  direction,  ''Wheu 
ye  shall  have  done  all  these  things,  which  are  commanded  you, 
say,  We  are  unprofitable  servants;  we  have  done  that  which 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  59 

was  our  duty  to  do."  There  never  was  at  any  period  of  his 
life  any  thing  of  doing  his  sacrifices  before  men  to  be  seen  of 
them — any  parading  of  his  sclfdeuial,  or  sounding  a  trumpet 
regarding  it.  On  the  contrary,  while  manifesting  a  self  denial 
which  would  put  to  shame  many  of  our  modern  missionaries, 
whose  every  want  had  been  supplied  by  the  liberality  of  friends 
at  home,  an  incident  which  occurred  on  the  eve  of  his  depar- 
ture, will  show  how  his  benevolent  spirit  caused  his  deep  pov- 
erty to  abound  to  the  riches  of  his  liberality.  Ridiculous  as  it 
may  appear  in  the  present  day,  it  was  then  customary  for  min- 
isters to  wear  a  species  of  cocked  hat.  lie  had  spent  on  what 
he  deemed  necessary  articles  of  outfit  all  the  money  he  thought 
he  could  spare,  except  one  guinea  which  he  had  reserved  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  this  necessary  article.  In  this  emer- 
gency a  strong  appeal  came  for  some  benevolent  object.  He 
hesitated  whether  to  give  his  guinea  or  buy  the  hat.  He  how- 
ever determined  on  the  former.  He  did  not  however  go  with- 
out his  hat.  A  day  or  two  afterward  a  friend  meeting  him 
said,  "  I  hear  that  you  are  going  to  America."  "  Yes."  "  Well, 
you  are  not  going  with  that  hat.  Come  in  here."  So  he  took 
him  into  one  of  the  best  establishments  in  Glasgow,  and  made 
him  a  present  of  one  of  the  best  quality. 

We  conclude  this  chapter  with  giving  his  own  account  of 
his  departure  and  voyage  to  Halifax,  with  a  notice  of  the  state 
of  society  there. 

"Next  day,  (viz.,  that  following  the  ordination,)  I  came  to 
Greenock,  along  with  the  Eev.  John  Buist,  to  whose  activity 
alone  the  success  of  this  business  was  owing.  He  did  all  that 
he  could  to  assist  and  comfort  me,  and  not  then  only,  but  his 
friendship  continued  all  the  days  of  his  life,  and  was  one  of  my 
principal  consolations,  till  Divine  Providence  removed  him  and 
raised  up  others.  On  the  3d  of  June  I  went  on  board  the  brig 
X%,  Captain  Smith,  bound  to  Halifax.  There  were  along 
with  me  in  the  cabin,  three  captains,  two  lieutenants  of  the 
army,  and  two  gentlemen  emigrants.  I  had  no  reason  to  com- 
plain  of  their  civility  all  along,  but  I  had  abundant  cause  to 


60  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

bewail  tlielr  impiety.  Songs,  cards,  drunkenness,  and  often  hor- 
ribly profane  swearing,  were  their  common  afternoon  emil  yment. 
At  times  reasoning  and  advice  would  have  some  effect  on  them, 
at  other  times  none. 

"  Next  morning  was  the  Sabbath  and  the  king's  birth  day. 
On  board  the  Lili/  there  was  no  appearance  of  a  Sabbath,  ex- 
cept with  two  or  three  steerage  passengers,  and  one  of  the 
hands,  whom  I  observed  now  and  then  retiring  to  read  his 
Bible.  The  sailors  had  very  many  things  to  do  and  arrange  in 
order  to  prepare  for  encountering  the  swelling  waves  of  the 
sea,  which  were  evidently  works  of  necessity,  if  it  was  a  work 
of  necessity  for  us  to  have  sailed  before  Monday,  a  question 
which  I  suppose  had  not  been  discussed.  *'  No  Sabbath  at  sea" 
was  the  common  reply  of  the  sailors  to  such  of  the  passengers 
as  accused  them  of  profaning  it. 

"  Nothing  worth  mentioning  happened  during  the  voyage, 
unless  that  the  Sabbath  days  were  so  stormy  that  on  two  of 
them  only  I  could  stand  upon  deck  to  perform  public  worship. 
I  landed  at  Halifax,  July  11th,  and  stayed  two  or  three  days 
there  getting  my  baggage  ashore,  and  looking  out  for  a  vessel 
to  carry  it  round  to  Pictou.  The  immorality  of  Halifax 
shocked  me  not  a  little,  and  I  hastened  out  of  it  hoping  better 
things  of  the  country." 

This  character  Halifax  retained  for  many  years,  chiefly 
owing  to  its  being  the  principal  naval  and  military  establish- 
ment in  British  America.  The  smallness  of  the  town  at  that 
time,  compared  with  the  number  of  soldiers  and  sailors  stationed 
there,  rendered  this  influence  more  injurious.  The  following 
extract  of  a  letter  written  some  years  before  may  be  regarded 
as  descriptive  of  its  condition  at  this  time,  the  years  of  war 
that  had  elapsed  having  made  no  improvement.  "  Halifax 
may  contain  about  one  thousand*  houses,  great  and  small, 
many  of  which  are  employed  as  barracks,  hospitals  for  the 
army  and  navy,  and  other  public  uses.     The  inhabitants  may 

*  iSnrely  a  mistake,  probably  four  hundred. 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  61 

be  about  three  thousand,  one  third  of  which  are  Irish,  and 
many  of  them  Roman  Catholics ;  about  one  fourth  Germans 
and  Dutch,  the  most  industrious  and  useful  settlers  amongst 
us,  and  the  rest  English  with  a  very  small  number  of  Scotch. 
We  have  upwards  of  one  hundred  licensed  houses,  and  perhaps 
as  many  more  which  retail  spirituous  liquors  without  license; 
so  that  the  business  of  one  half  of  the  town  is  to  sell  rum,  and 
the  other  half  to  drink  it.  You  may  from  this  simple  ciixum- 
stance  judge  of  our  morals,  and  naturally  infer  that  we  are  not 
enthusiasts  in  religion."*  There  was  at  that  time  little  faith- 
ful gospel  preaching.  It  is  gratifying,  however,  to  be  able  to 
remark,  that  there  has  been  considerable  improvement  apparent 
in  its  religious  character  for  years,  we  believe  partly  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  naval  and  military  establishments  have  been 
diminished,  while  the  general  population  has  increased,  but 
principally  to  the  fact  of  God  in  his  Providence  sending  thither 
a  number  of  excellent  ministers  of  various  denominations. 

Before  however  following  the  narrative  farther  we  must  give 
some  account  of  Nova  Scotia,  its  early  settlement,  and  its  moral 
and  physical  condition  at  the  time  of  his  arrival. 

*  Letter  to  Dr.  Stiles  of  Boston,  quoted  by  Ilaliburton. 


62  MEMOIR   OP   THE 


CHAPTER    IV. 

STATE    OF    NOVA    SCOTIA,  BEFORE  AND   AT    THE    TIME    OF    HIS 
ARRIVAL. 

"A  land  of  brooks  of  waters,  of  fountaiDS,  and  depths  that  spring  out  of 
valleys  and  hills — a  land  whose  stones  are  iron  and  out  of  whose  hills  thou 
mayest  dig  brass." — Deut.  viii.  7,  9. 

The  province  of  Nova  Scotia,  according  to  its  present  limits, 
lies  within  the  latitudes  of  43°  and  47°  north,  and  the  longi- 
tudes of  60°  and  67°  west.  It  consists  of  a  Peninsula,  usually 
known  as  Nova  Scotia  proper,  connected  with  the  continent  by 
an  isthmus  twelve  miles  wide,  and  the  island  of  Cape  Breton, 
separated  from  the  mainland  by  a  narrow  passage,  called  the 
Strait  of  Canso.  In  length  it  extends  a  distance  of  about  three 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  its  average  breadth  is  about  seventy. 
But  from  the  extent  to  which  it  is  cut  into  by  inlets  of  the  sea, 
and  the  amount  of  surface  in  the  interior  occupied  by  rivers  and 
lakes,  its  superficial  extent  is  not  so  large  as  might  be  expected. 
Its  computed  area  is  18,600  square  miles,  or  about  12,000,000 
acres. 

Along  the  southern  coast,  the  shore  is  generally  rugged,  but 
it  seldom  rises  into  steep  cliffs,  so  that  the  general  aspect  is  not 
romantic  or  sublime,  yet  it  is  generally  picturesque,  and  in 
many  places  the  scenery  is  rich  and  beautiful.  In  the  interior 
the  country  is  generally  traversed  by  hills,  which  however 
scarcely  ever  rise  to  the  height  of  mountains,  the  highest  elevation 
being  estimated  at  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea.  From  these  flow  down  many  small  streams,  which,  though 
not  long  in  their  course,  render  the  country  one  of  the  best 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  63 

watered  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  being  generally  navigable 
for  sniiill  vessels,  afford  great  conveniences  for  trade.  The  sur- 
face also  is  much  broken  by  innumerable  lakes,  so  that  the  gene- 
ral aspect  of  the  province  is  that  of  a  hilly  country,  agreeably 
diversified  with  hill  and  dale,  river  and  lake,  forest  and  grassy 
glade. 

In  respect  to  soil  and  fitness  for  agricultural  purposes,  Nova 
Scotia  presents  a  great  variety.  Along  the  whole  Atlantic 
coast  it  is  barren  and  stony,  but  in  the  interior  the  soil  is  gene- 
rally capable  of  cultivation,  and  much  of  it,  especially  on  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  and  tlie  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  is  of  the  very 
best  quality.  Many  of  the  hills  are  fertile  to  their  summits, 
while  the  richness  and  beauty  of  many  of  the  valleys  cannot 
be  surpassed.  The  province,  however,  is  chiefly  remarkable  for 
its  immense  mineral  resources.  These,  with  its  valuable  fish- 
eries, and  its  convenient  situation  for  trade,  will  yet  render  it 
one  of  the  most  important  commercial  and  manufacturing  places 
of  the  new  world. 

The  climate  of  Nova  Scotia,  like  that  of  America  generally, 
possesses  the  characteristic  of  having  a  higher  temperature  in 
summer  and  a  lower  in  winter  than  the  same  latitudes  of  the 
old  world.  From  its  position  on  the  coast  it  has  more  humid- 
ity than  places  in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  and  for  the 
same  reason  has  not  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  which  pre- 
vail in  the  neighbouring  provinces.  The  most  unfavourable 
impressions  have  been  abroad  regarding  its  climate.  It  has 
been  represented  as  enveloped  in  fog,  covered  so  deeply  with 
snow  as  to  render  travelling  impracticable,  and  bound  for  the 
most  of  the  year  in  the  chains  of  frost.  Nothing  can  be  more 
unfounded.  The  fogs  which  prevail  on  the  southern  coast  at 
certain  seasons  do  not  extend  inland,  so  that  at  the  distance  of 
a  dozen  miles  from  the  shore  there  will  be  clear  air  and  brilliant 
sunshine,  at  the  very  time  that  thick  fogs  come  upon  the  coast 
from  the  sea,  while  on  the  northern  coast  there  is  not  on  an 
average  above  one  day's  fog  in  the  year.  Though  the  winter  is 
more  severe  than  in  Britain,  yet  it  is  not  so  much  so  as  in  the 


64  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

neighbouring  provinces  or  in  portions  of  the  north-eastern  States. 
Of  the  healthiness  of  the  climate  there  can  be  no  question.  There 
are  no  diseases  peculiar  to  the  country,  and  epidemics  or  other 
diseases  do  not  rage  with  peculiar  virulence,  while  those  violent 
and  protracted  intermittent  fevers,  prevalent  in  other  parts  of 
America,  arc  never  generated  here,  and  those  afflicted  with 
them  will  on  their  removal  to  Nova  Scotia  entirely  recover  in  a 
short  time. 

For  some  time  after  its  discovery.  Nova  Scotia  received  but 
little  attention  from  Europeans.  When  it  did  attract  notice, 
the  first  attempts  at  colonization  were  made  by  the  French. 
At  that  time,  under  the  name  of  Acadia,  it  embraced  not  only 
what  is  now  included  under  the  government  of  Nova  Scotia, 
but  also  Prince  Edward  Island  and  New  Brunswick.  As  early 
as  the  year  1606,  they  sent  forth  an  expedition  for  the  purpose 
of  colonization,  and  though  the  settlement  of  the  country  was 
interrupted  by  the  uncertain  tenure  by  which  it  was  held,  it 
being  alternately  in  the  possession  of  the  English  and  French, 
yet  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  their  settlements  had 
made  considerable  progress. 

In  the  year  1713  Nova  Scotia  was  finally  ceded  to  Britain. 
But  the  French  still  retained  Cape  Breton  and  Prince  Edward 
Island,  and  claimed  a  large  portion  of  New  Brunswick.  From 
this  time  efi"orts  were  made  by  the  English  for  the  colonization  of 
Nova  Scotia,  but  for  some  time  with  but  little  success,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  hostility  of  the  French  and  the  deadlier  hostility 
of  the  Indians,  who  were  leagued  with  them.  The  first  efiiec- 
tual  attempt  of  importance  made  by  the  former  was  at  Chebucto, 
since  called  Halifax,  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  who,  in  1749,  landed 
a  body  of  3760  persons,  chiefly  disbanded  soldiers  and  sailors. 
About  the  same  time  invitations  were  sent  to  various  parts  of 
Europe,  inviting  Protestants  to  settle  in  the  British  provinces. 
In  consequence,  a  large  number  of  Germans  arrived  in  this 
province,  who  principally  settled  at  Lunenburg.  A  few  of 
them  however  reached  the  eastern  part  of  the  province. 

We  need  scarcely  remark,  that  the  early  settlement  of  the 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOU,   D.D.  65 

country  was  attended  with  great  toil  and  privation.  The  ma- 
jestic primeval  forest,  which  covered  the  whole  surface  of  the 
ground,  seemed  an  almost  insuperable  barrier  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil.  The  difficulties  of  forming  a  lumie  in  such  a  situa- 
tion would  not  now  appear  very  formidable  to  those  brought  up 
in  the  new  States  or  the  frontier  settlements  of  America.  But 
those  who  came  from  an  old  country,  entirely  unacquainted 
with  such  a  mode  of  life,  and  unaccustomed  to  the  use  of  the 
gun  or  the  axe,  were  in  very  different  circumstances.  The 
winter  seemed  to  them  terrible.  Of  a  severity  of  which  they 
had  in  the  old  country  no  conception,  ill  provided  either  with 
clothing  or  shelter  against  its  inclemency,  and  with  none  of  the 
facilities  for  locomotion,  which  the  inhabitants  now  possess,  we 
need  not  wonder  that  it  was  at  first  regarded  as  truly  appalling. 
More  fearful  still  was  the  hostility  of  the  Indians.  The  first 
settlers  could  scarcely  enter  the  neighbouring  woods  without 
being  either  shot,  scalped,  or  taken  prisoners.  When  the  latter 
was  their  fate,  torture  and  death  were  their  lot,  or  if  spared, 
they  were  dragged  by  long  marches  through  trackless  forests, 
suffering  intolerable  hardships,  and  were  finally  sold  to  the 
French  as  merchandise,  in  exchange  for  arms  and  ammunition. 
Tlie  French  inhabitants,  who  remained  in  the  province,  had 
taken  an  oath  of  neutrality;  but  under  the  continual  instigation 
of  their  countrymen  in  Canada  and  Cape  Breton,  and  espe- 
cially of  their  priests,  they  were  excited  to  acts  of  hostility, 
which  led  the  government  in  the  year  1755,  to  remove  them 
from  the  province  and  disperse  them  over  the  other  colonies. 

In  the  year  1758  Louisburg  was  taken  by  the  British,  and 
CapeBretonandall  Prince  Edward  Island  immediately  passed  un- 
der the  English  sway.  In  the  year  1761  a  formal  treaty  of  peace 
was  made  with  the  Indians,  and  the  hatchet  buried  with  due  solem- 
nity. These  events  prepared  the  way  for  the  peaceable  settle- 
ment of  the  country.  About  the  years  17G0  and  1761,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  invitations  of  Governor  Lawrence,  a  large  num- 
ber of  persons  removed  from  the  old  American  colonies,  par- 
ticularly Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  attracted  especially  by 
6» 


66  MEMOIR  OP  THE 

the  fertile  lands  from  which  the  French  Acadians  had  been 
driven.  These  settled  Horton,  Cornwallis,  Faliuouth,  Newport, 
Truro,  Onslow,  and  some  other  portions  of  the  province.  About 
the  same  time  Colonel  Alexander  MacNutt  brought  out  a  few 
families  of  north  of  Ireland  people  who  settled  in  Londonderry, 
giving  that  township  the  name  of  their  native  place.  A  few 
of  the  same  people  also  settled  at  Noel,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  bay,  and  have  extended  through  Colchester  and  part  of 
Hants  and  Halifax  counties.  In  the  year  1773  came  the  ship 
Hector  to  Pictou,  the  first  emigrant  vessel  from  Scotland  to 
this  province.  Since  that  time  the  emigration  from  Scotland 
has  been  so  constant,  that  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  eastern  portion  of  Nova  Scotia  are  either 
Scotch  or  of  Scottish  descent,  and  probably  more  than  half  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  province  are  of  the  same  char- 
acter. 

These  successive  settlements  considerably  increased  the  popu- 
lation, yet  from  the  failure  of  land  speculations  in  subsequent 
years,  and  from  the  American  revolutionary  war  the  province 
rather  retrograded,  so  that  in  1781  the  English  population  was 
estimated  at  only  12,000.  The  conclusion  of  the  American 
war  brought  a  large  influx  of  population.  Several  regiments 
which  had  served  in  the  war  were  disbanded,  and  received 
grants  of  land  in  various  parts  of  the  province.  And  large 
numbers  of  refugees,  or  loyalists  as  they  called  themselves,  pre- 
ferring the  protection  of  the  British  Government,  removed  to 
Nova  Scotia.  Of  this  class  it  was  estimated  that  20,000 
landed  during  the  years  1783  and  1784.  A  number  of  these 
afterwards  removed  from  the  province,  and  in  the  latter  year. 
New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  Cape  Breton  were 
formed  into  separate  governments.  So  that  the  population  of 
the  province  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  would  probably  not  ex- 
ceed 30,000. 

From  this  account  of  the  early  colonization  of  the  province, 
our  readers  will  have  a  view  of  the  extent  to  which  it  was 
settled  at  the  time  of  Dr.  MacGregor's  arrival,  and  the  classes 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.B.  67 

by  wliich  it  was  first  peopled.  There  was  Halifax — containing 
a  mixed  population  of  three  or  four  thousand-^to  the  west- 
ward was  Lunenburg  settled  by  Germans.  The  other  leading 
places  in  the  west,  as  well  as  Onslow  and  Truro,  were  settled 
by  emigrants  from  the  old  colonies,  especially  New  England. 
Londonderry  was  settled  by  north  of  Ireland  people,  and  a  few 
of  the  same  class  had  occupied  some  neighbouring  portions  of 
Colchester  and  Hants  counties.  Amherst  and  portions  of  Cum- 
berland had  received  a  body  of  emigrants  from  Yorkshire  and 
other  places  in  the  north  of  England,  while  Pictou  and  some 
portions  of  Hants  had  been  settled  by  emigrants  from  Scotland. 
Eastward  of  Pictou,  except  the  remnants  of  Acadian  French 
in  Cape  Breton,  there  was  scarcely  a  settlement  worthy  of  no- 
tice. Even  the  settlements  referred  to  were  small,  and  the 
ground  they  occupied  appeared  but  as  spots  upon  the  face  of 
the  country. 

We  must,  however,  give  some  account  of  the  moral  and  reli- 
gious condition  of  the  inhabitants.  From  what  has  been  said, 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  was  much  in  the  persons  by  whom  the 
province  was  settled  unfavourable  to  its  social  well  being.  A 
large  proportion  of  the  population  consisted  of  disbanded  sol- 
diers and  sailors,  who  were  not  only  unfitted  by  the  idle  habits 
acquired  in  the  army  and  navy  for  any  employment  requiring 
industry  and  perseverance,  but  introduced  wide-spread  profli- 
gacy. Then  a  portion  of  the  refugees,  or  loyalists  as  they  were 
called,  were  very  undeserving  the  honour  they  received.  Many 
of  them  doubtless  left  their  homes  in  the  old  colonies  from  a 
sincere  attachment  to  British  rule,  and  were  men  of  high  prin- 
ciple. But  others  had  joined  the  British  cause  from  the  hope 
of  plunder  under  British  protection.  There  was  no  class  whom 
the  Americans  so  detested, — and  from  what  we  have  heard  of 
some  of  them  in  Nova  Scotia,  we  believe  that  this  character 
tvas  not  undeserved. 

But  "when  the  enemy  comes  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  tlie 
Lord  will  lift  up  a  standard  against  him."  Among  the  emi- 
grants from  diflferent  quarter.^,  were  many  who  feared  God,  and 


68  MEMOIR  OP  THE 

loved  liis  ordinances.  The  settlors  from  the  old  colonies,  who 
arrived  botli  before  and  after  the  llevolutionary  war,  brought 
with  thorn  not  only  the  steady  liabits  and  the  persevering  enter- 
prise of  New  England,  but  the  religious  principles  of  their 
Puritiin  forefathers.  The  Gerinnns  carried  hither  the  simple 
faith  from  which  the  churches  of  the  Fatherland  had  not  then 
departed,  while  the  Scotch  and  Scotch  Irish  as  thoroughly  trans- 
planted to  this  western  wilderness  the  sturdy  Prcsbyterianism 
for  which  their  covenanting  forefathers  had  shed  their  blood. 
Already  the  go.spel  standard  was  raised  by  ministers  of  dif- 
ferent denominations.  The  Church  of  England  had  its  ministers 
in  the  province  from  the  time  that  it  was  first  settled,  supported 
partly  by  the  British  Government,  and  partly  by  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel.  A  few  old  Methodists  who 
had  emigrated  from  England,  began  about  the  year  1779  to 
hold  meetings  among  themselves  for  prayer  and  exhortation. 
Through  these  meetings  several  persons  were  raised  up  as  ex- 
horters  and  occasional  preachers.  Among  these  was  Mr.  Wm. 
Black,  who  was  shortly  after  accepted  as  a  regular  preacher, 
and  was  at  this  time,  with  several  others,  labouring  in  various 
parts  of  the  province.  There  were  also  a  few  Congregational- 
ist  ministers  in  the  Western  part  of  the  province.  Several  Pres- 
byterian clergymen  had  also  arrived.  The  Rev.  Andrew  Brown, 
afterward  Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
had  arrived  the  same  year,  and  was  preaching  in  Halifax  to  a 
mixed  congregation  of  Scottish  Presbyterians  and  New  England 
Congregationalists;  and  three  ministers  of  the  Burgher  Synod 
were  already  prosecuting  their  labours.'  The  Baptist  body, 
though  now  one  of  the  most  numerous  and  influential  in  the 
province,  had  but  few  ministers  or  churches,  but  that  impor- 
tant movement,  in  which  most  of  the  Baptist  churches  of  the 
province  originated,  viz.,  the  rise  of  what  were  called  the  New 
Lights,  had  just  reached  its  height.  Without  some  account  of 
this,  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  any  thing  like  a  view  of  the 
early  state  of  the  province  in  a  religious  point  of  view. 

This  movement  originated  with  an  individual  named  Henry 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  69 

Alline,  who  commenced  of  his  own  notion,  or  as  he  regarded 
it,  by  the  call  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  to  preach,  as  early  as  the 
Year  177G.  He  first  preached  at  Falmouth  where  he  had  pre- 
viously resided,  and  about  Coriiwallis  and  Ilorton.  Having 
gained  adherents  in  these  places,  the  people  took  .measures  to 
have  him  ordained,  but  difficulties  having  arisen  on  the  part  of 
the  clergymen  applied  to,  he  was  ordained  an  itinerant  preacher, 
by  some  laymen. 

Shortly  after  he  published  his  peculiar  views  in  a  book  en- 
titled, "  Two  mites  on  some  of  the  most  important  and  much 
disputed  points  of  divinity,  east  into  the  treasury  for  the  poor 
and  needy,  and  committed  to  the  perusal  of  the  unprejudiced 
and  impartial  reader,  by  Henry  Alline,  servant  of  the  Lord  to 
liis  churches."  There  are  but  few  copies  of  this  work  now  in 
existence,  and  we  have  never  had  the  perusal  of  one ;  but  we 
have  seen  a  considerable  volume  in  reply  to  it,  by  the  Eev. 
Jonathan  Scott,  of  Yarmouth,  which  contains  copious  extracts 
from  it.  It  is  not  easy  to  give  a  clear  statement  of  his  views, 
for  his  notions  were  so  crude,  that  he  could  not  have  defined 
them  clearly  himself.  At  one  time  he  is  an  Arminian,  and  at 
another  time  professes  to  confute  their  views.  It  may  be  said, 
however,  that  he  either  denied  all  the  leading  doctrines  of 
Christianity,  or  so  misrepresented  them  that  he  might  as  well 
have  denied  them.  The  doctrines  of  election  and  the  divine 
decrees  he  especially  assailed,  and  he  has  shown  more  than  the 
usual  ignorance  on  the  subject.  The  doctrine  of  original  sin 
he  professed  to  hold,  but  explained  it  in  the  following  manner: 
All  the  souls  of  the  human  race  were  emanations  from  or  parts 
of  the  one  great  Spirit, — and  were  actually  present  in  Eden  at 
the  making  and  breaking  of  the  covenant,  that  we  all  acted  for 
ourselves  on  that  occasion,  and  thus  all  the  souls  that  have  ever 
lived  or  will  ever  live  in  the  world,  were  actually  in  the  first 
transgression.  He  supposed  that  our  first  parents  were  pure 
spirits,  and  that  the  material  world  was  not  then  made.  But, 
in  order  that  mankind,  in  consequence  of  the  fall,  might  not 
sink  into  utter  destruction,  this  world  was  produced,  and  men 


70  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

clothed  with  material  bodies,  and  in  them  enjoy  a  state  of  pro- 
bation for  ininiortal  happiness.*  Conversion  he  explained  as 
Christ's  "chanii;ing  and  takinti;  possession  of  the  inmost  soul, 
which  is  at  the  time  of  the  change  completely  sanctified." 
The  reason  why  man  after  conversion  is  not  without  sin,  he 
explained  thus,  "  .Man  in  his  fallen  state  consists  of  body,  soul, 
and  spirit,  an  animal  or  elemental  body,  a  spiritual  and  immor- 
tal bod}^  and  an  immortal  mind.  And  at  the  hour  of  conver- 
sion, the  Son  of  God  takes  possession  of  the  inmost  soul  or 
immortal  mind,  but  leaveth  the  fallen  immortal  body  in  its 
fallen  state  still."  He  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  "  eleiiien- 
tal  bodies,"  and  maintained  that  they  would  be  dissolved  and 
burnt  up.  He  denied  the  utility  of  water  baptism,  but  some- 
times practised  it  when  desired. 

There  were  other  subjects  on  which  he  broached  some  pecu- 
liar views,  but  the  above  will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  crude- 
ness  of  his  notions.  Indeed  the  extracts  from  his  writings 
that  we  have  seen,  would  almost  indicate  unsoundness  of  mind. 
Yet  he  was  possessed  of  a  lively  and  earnest  mode  of  address  as 
a  preacher,  and  in  private  his  manner  was  very  attractive  to 
ordinary  people,  so  that  he  excited  great  attention  wherever  he 
went.  Refusing  any  thing  like  a  pastoral  charge,  he  traversed 
the  then  settled  parts  of  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and 
Prince  Edward  Island,  preaching  his  own  doctrines,  or  preach- 
ing on  the  ordinary  subjects  of  Christian  doctrine  and  keeping 
his  peculiar  views  in  the  background,  depreciating  the  regular 
ministers  of  the  gospel  or  denouncing  them  in  the  lowest  terms, 
urging  separation  from  other  communions  and  forming  societies 
after  his  own  model.  So  successful  was  he  that  there  was 
scarcely  a  place  that  he  visited,  in  which  he  did  not  make  a 
breach  in  the  religious  societies  already  formed,  to  whatever 
denomination  they  might  belong.  After  prosecuting  this  course 
for  several  years,  he  went  to  the  United  States  in  September 
1783,  and  died  on  the  February  following,  having  established  a 


*  Encyclopedia  of  Religious  Knowledge,  Art.  Allinites. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  71 

small  sect  in  that  country  -who  continued  for  a  time  under  the 
name  of  Allinites. 

With  all  his  fanaticism  we  have  reason  to  hdieve  that  he  waa 
a  cjood  man  ;  and  as  he  preached  the  necessity  of  regeneration, 
and  that  in  an  earnest  and  impressive  manner,  at  a  time  and  in 
places  where  there  was  a  great  want  of  sound  gospel  ministra- 
tions, we  may  hope  that  through  his  instrumentality  souls  were 
added  to  the  Lord.  Yet  the  good  he  did  was  accompanied  by 
much  evil,  if  not  more  than  counterbalanced  by  it.  Every 
where  he  filled  the  minds  of  people  with  delusive  notions — 
puffing  up  the  most  ignorant  with  extraordinary  self-conceit 
of  their  spiritual  enlightenment,  and  substituting  the  fancies 
of  a  disordered  imagination  for  the  faith  and  holiness  of  the 
gospel,  and  exciting  to  every  extravagance,  that  would  render 
their  religious  proceedings  a  mockery.  Every  where  he  ex- 
cited division  in  other  Christian  societies,  so  that  Mr.  Scott,  in 
his  work  referred  to,  says,  "Not  only  is  our  land  overspread 
with  tenets  and  principles,  which  by  their  plain  construction  and 
meaning,  and  their  most  natural  and  direct  tendency,  overthrow 
and  destroy  the  doctrines  of  divine  revelation,  but  also  this 
Province  is  overspread  with  religious  contentions,  divisions,  and 
separations,  so  that  there  is  scarcely  a  church  or  religious  com- 
munity in  the  Province,  but  what  our  author  has  broken  in 
upon,  and  drawn  off  a  party  from  it  by  some  means  or  other." 
We  need  not  therefore  wonder  that  he  and  his  followers  were, 
by  other  denominations,  generally  regarded  as  enemies  of  the 
church. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  founder  of  the  sect  had  passed  away 
a  short  time  previous  to  Dr.  MacGregor's  arrival^  but  under 
the  teachers  whom  he  had  commissioned,  the  movement  was 
just  at  its  height.  If  it  is  difficult  to  give  a  clear  account  of 
his  doctrines,  it  is  more  difficult  to  give  an  account  of  the  doc- 
trines of  his  followers,  as  they  not  only  differed  from  him,  but 
from  one  another;  and  under  the  claim  to  superior  illumina- 
tion from  which  they  derived  their  name,  each  new  teacher  pro- 
claimed his  own  fancies  as  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


72  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

The  Presbytery  of  Pictou,  in  a  letter  some  years  later,  thus  de- 
scribe them  :  "  It  is  impossible  to  give  any  just  account  of  their 
principles,  because  like  the  lips  of  the  strange  woman  their 
*  ways  are  movable,'  that  you  cannot  know  them.  Their  chief 
topics  are  plunging  and  conversion,  concerning  the  last  of 
which  they  entertain  very  extravagant  notions.  They  evidently 
differ  from  one  another  in  their  sentiments,  while  they  profess 
to  be  agreed — yea,  the  very  same  persons  affect  to  believe  things 
contradictory,  and  every  new  teacher  or  succeeding  day  brings 
a  new  doctrine."  Dr.  MacGregor  afterwards  describes  their 
sentiments  as  ''  a  mixture  of  Calvinism,  Antinomianism,  and 
enthusiasm."  This  seems  to  be  the  most  correct  account  of 
them  that  we  have  seen. 

In  general  it  may  be  said  of  them  that  in  their  teaching 
they  were  characterized  by  the  use  of  Antinomian  paradoxes, 
such  as  that  sin  would  never  hurt  a  believer — that  a  believer 
was  not  bound  by  the  law — that  God  loved  a  believer  even  when 
falling  into  the  vilest  sins — and  that  such  were  sure  of  salva- 
tion however  they  lived ;  that  in  their  religious  proceedings 
they  were  characterized  by  the  wildest  extravagance,  and  that 
in  their  outward  conduct,  many  carried  out  their  principles  to 
their  legitimate  issue.  A  missionary  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  who  came  in  contact  with  them  some  years  later,  thus 
describes  them,  "They  deny  the  divine  rite  of  infant  baptism; 
they  maintain  that  conviction  is  conversion — that  after  they  are 
converted  they  are  freed  from  the  performance  of  evei'y  Chris- 
tian duty — and  that  they  are  sure  of  salvation  though  they 
live  in  the  neglect  of  every  command,  and  daily  practise  every 
vice,  so  that  among  them  Sabbath  breaking,  swearing,  drink- 
ing, and  such  like  sins,  are  not  considered  sins  against  the 
blessed  God."  This  picture  of  their  moral  principles,  if  ap- 
plied to  the  whole,  may  be  considered  overcharged,  but  it  was 
too  true  of  a  large  portion  of  them. 

We  may  add  in  explanation,  that  most  of  the  churches 
founded  by  them  afterward  received  Baptist  teachers,  and 
adopted  Baptist  views.     They  thus  abandoned  the  notions  of 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  78 

tlieir  founder,  and  since  that  time  the  extravagance  which 
marked  the  origin  of  the  movement  has  been  toned  down,  and 
they  have  become  more  fixed  in  their  theological  principles. 
From  these  most  of  the  Baptist  churches,  particularly  those  of 
the  Free  Will  Baptists  and  Free  Christian  Baptists,  in  the 
Lower  Provinces  originated.  A  few,  however,  continued  under 
the  original  standard  till  a  very  recent  period.''' 

But  we  must  give  a  more  particular  account  of  the  early 
settlement  of  Pictou  and  its  condition  at  this  time.  This  fine 
county,  which  formed  the  principal  sphere  of  Dr.  MacGregor's 
labours,  and  with  the  material  and  moral  progress  of  which  his 
name  is  so  intimately  associated,  lies  on  the  southern  shore  of 
the  Straits  of  Northumberland.  It  is  about  forty  miles  long  by 
about  twenty  in  breadth.  Its  coast  is  indented  by  a  number  of 
harbours,  the  principal  of  which  are  River  John,  Carriboo, 
Pictou,  and  Merigomish.  Into  these  flow  River  John,  the 
East,  West,  and  Middle  Rivers  of  Pictou,  and  Sutherland, 
French,  and  Barney's  River  of  Merigormish,  besides  snuiller 
streams,  so  that  it  is  well  watered  throughout.  Along  the 
shore  the  land  is  generally  level,  but  in  the  interior,  ranges  of 
hills  extend  in  every  direction,  presenting  scenery  of  the  most 
varied  and  beautiful  description.  A  range  of  higher  elevation, 
being  a  branch  of  the  Cobequid  hills,  extends  along  the  western 
boundary.  Another  range  traverses  the  southern  portions  of 
the  county,  which,  though  not  rising  to  as  great  an  elevation, 
has  a  broken  and  rocky  appearance. 

It  has  no  marsh  land,  but  along  its  rivers  is  much  valuable 
intervale,  and  much  of  the  upland  soil  even  to  the  summits  of 
the  hills  is  fertile,  and  every  where  it  is  capable  of  cultivation. 
It  has  also  abundance  of  mineral  resources,  especially  coal,  iron 
ore,  freestone,  gypsum,  and  limestone. 

*  For  part  of  the  above  information  regarding  Henry  Alline  and  the  New 
Lights,  we  are  indebted  to  the  Rev.  George  Christie,  of  Yarmouth.  We  bad 
prepared  a  fuller  account  of  the  religious  character  and  condition  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Nova  Scotia,  but  the  materials  of  the  present  volume  have  so  in- 
creased that  we  have  been  obliged  to  defer  it. 


74  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

Although  Pictou  is  now  the  first  agricultural  county  in  the 
province,  and  has  a  larger  population  than  any  other,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Metropolitan  county  of  Halifax,  yet  it  was 
one  of  the  latest  in  being  settled.  The  French  had  made  no 
permanent  settlement  there  at  all.  They  had  visited  the  place, 
and,  just  before  the  final  cession  of  Nova  Scotia  to  the  English, 
had  made  preparation  fur  occupying  it,  but  they  never  accom- 
plished their  purpose. 

In  the  year  17G5,  a  grant  of  200,000  acres  of  land,  embrac- 
ing the  western  part  of  the  county  and  part  of  the  county  of 
Colchester,  was  made  to  fourteen  persons  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia, usually  known  as  the  Philadelphia  Company.  Some 
of  the  shares  were  afterward  transferred,  so  that  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Witherspoon,  and  John  Pagan  of  Greenock,  became  pro- 
prietors. The  condition  of  their  grant  was  that  they  should 
settle  so  many  families  upon  it  within  a  given  time.  Before 
however  their  grant  was  actually  laid  out.  Col.  MacNutt  ob- 
tained a  gi'ant  of  a  considerable  block  of  land,  where  the  town 
of  Pictou  now  stands,  and  extending  a  considerable  distance 
along  the  shore  of  the  harbour.  This  grant  was  afterward 
transferred  to  Governor  Patterson,  and  has  been  commonly 
known  since  as  the  Cochrane  grant. 

The  Philadelphia  company  sent  the  first  band  of  settlers  to 
Pictou.  They  consisted  of  six  families  from  the  borders  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  who  sailed  from  Philadelphia  in 
May  1767,  in  a  small  vessel  called  the  Hope,  of  Rhode  Island, 
Captain  Hull.  Having  been  delayed  by  calling  at  Halifax  to 
obtain  information  regarding  the  coast  around,  they  reached 
Pictou  Harbour  on  the  10th  of  June.  The  people  of  Truro 
having  heard  of  them  in  Halifax,  several  persons  set  out  to 
meet  them  and  arrived  at  the  harbour  the  same  afternoon. 
They  saw  the  vessel  coming  up  the  harbour,  and  kindled  fires 
on  the  shore  to  attract  those  on  board  fjxrther  up.  The  latter 
saw  the  fires,  but  concluded  that  they  were  made  by  the 
savages,  and  held  a  consultation  whether  they  should  oppose 
them  or  submit  to  them,  and  resolved  upon  resistance. 


IIEV.    JAMES    MACGREUOR,    D.D.  75 

On  the  following  morning  they  saw  the  party  from  Truro 
coming  alontr  shore,  and  by  examining  them  with  their  spy- 
glasses found  that  they  were  white  people.  That  afternoon 
they  landed  at  the  point  on  Mr.  Thomas  "Waller's  farm  just 
above  Halliburton  streiim.  The  prospect  before  them  was 
dreary  indeed.  One  unbroken  forest  extended  to  the  water's 
edge,  an  alder  swamp  occupied  the  lower  portions  of  what  is 
now  the  town  of  Pictou,  and  there  were  no  inhabitants,  but 
Indians,  whom  they  feared  as  savages.  Mrs.  Patterson  used 
to  tell  that  she  leaned  her  head  against  a  tree,  which  stood  on 
the  point,  in  despair.  She  thought  that  if  there  was  a  broken 
hearted  creature  in  the  world,  she  was  the  one.  It  was,  how- 
ever, no  time  for  giving  way  to  despondency,  and  they  com- 
menced erecting  their  shanties  and  preparing  for  a  settlement. 
They  had  a  supply  of  provisions  and  each  was  allotted  a  farm 
lot.  They  discovered  however  that  Governor  Patterson  had 
obtained  the  most  eligible  site  for  a  town.  They  did  however 
lay  out  a  town  at  Waller's  I'oint  already  referred  to,  but  it  was 
never  built. 

Of  the  six  families  who  came  in  the  Hope,  two  removed  to 
Truro,  the  remaining  four  set  to  work  energetically  to  provide 
for  their  support,  but  of  course  little  crop  could  be  raised  that 
season.  For  some  time  they  obtained  a  large  portion  of  their 
food  by  hunting,  a  work  in  which  they  usually  had  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Indians,  whose  jealousy  however  it  sometimes  re- 
quired all  their  address  to  allay ;  or  by  catching  the  fish  with 
which  the  harbour  and  rivers  abounded.  On  the  following 
spring  they  proceeded  to  Truro  for  seed  potatoes.  Though  the 
distance  is  only  forty  miles  it  required  three  days  to  perform 
the  journey,  there  being  no  path,  and  they  being  the  first  even 
to  make  a  blaze  on  their  course.  They  carried  home  on  their 
backs  what  they  planted  that  year.  The  proceeds  were  not  suf- 
ficient for  their  subsistence  during  the  subsequent  winter.  In 
the  following  spring  they  again  proceeded  to  Truro  for  a  supply 
of  seed,  but  they  only  brought  the  eyes,  which  they  had 
scooped  out  of  the  potatoes.     They  could  carry  a  large  quantity 


76  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

of  tliem,  which  yielded  enough  to  keep  them  the  following 
season. 

The  heads  of  the  families  which  remained  were  Robert  Pat- 
terson, Dr.  John  Harris,  John  Rogers,  and  John  MacCabe. 
About  a  year  after  their  arrival  they  were  joined  by  two  fami- 
lies from  Truro,  and  two  or  three  from  Cumberland,  and  in  the 
year  1771  a  few  more  families  removed  from  Philadelphia  to 
join  their  brethren.  Some  trade  also  was  carried  on,  but  seve- 
ral got  discouraged  by  the  long  and  cold  winters,  so  that  little 
progress  was  made,  till  the  arrival  of  the  ship  Hector,  with 
passengers  from  Scotland  in  the  year  1773,  from  which  time 
the  actual  settlement  of  the  place  may  be  dated. 

Some  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Philudolphia  company  offered 
liberal  terms  for  the  settlement  of  their  grant.  They  made  an 
agreement  with  one  John  Ross,  by  which  they  were  to  give  him 
and  every  person  he  might  bring  to  this  country  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  land.  These  proposals  were  eagerly  embraced  by  num- 
bers, who  knew  not  the  hardships  of  settling  a  new  country. 
About  thirty  families,  most  of  them  Highlanders,  allured  by 
the  prospect  of  owning  a  farm,  bade  adieu  to  the  land  of  their 
nativity,  and  arrived  at  Pictou  on  the  15th  September  follow- 
ing. The  Hector  had  been  ill  provided,  so  that  eighteen  died 
during  the  passage  and  were  cast  into  the  sea,  and  when  she 
arrived  there  were  some  either  dying  or  dead.  The  latter  were 
buried  on  the  beach,  while  the  living  were  landed  at  Brown's 
point,  without  provisions,  and  left  to  provide  shelter  and  food 
for  themselves  as  best  they  might. 

It  being  so  late  in  the  season  when  they  arrived,  of  course  no 
crop  could  be  got  into  the  ground  that  year.  The  Hector  was 
immediately  despatched  to  Philadelphia  to  bring  back  a  supply 
of  provisions.  But  by  the  time  she  returned,  the  settlers  hav- 
ing found  that  the  Philadelphia  grant,  which  they  had  come 
to  settle,  extended  far  into  the  interior  with  only  a  small  front- 
age on  the  shore,  and  that  occupied  by  those  who  had  pre- 
viously arrived,  they  refused  to  occupy  it.  They  were  afraid 
of  Indians  and  wild  beasts,  and  besides,  unprovided  as  they 


REV.    JAMES    AIACGllEljiOU,    D.D.  /  i 

were  with  compasses,  they  were  liable  to  be  lost  in  the  woods, 
and  they  were  shut  out  fi-om  what  they  soon  saw  must  for  a 
time  prove  their  principal  dependancc  for  subsistence,  the  fish 
in  the  harbour  and  rivers.  When  the  Hector  returned,  and  it 
was  found  that  they  had  refused  to  settle  the  company's  grant, 
the  provisions  were  refused.  A  jealousy  also  arose  between 
them  and  the  American  settlers,  so  that  the  latter  did  not  so 
readily  render  the  assistance,  which  they  might  have  done 
under  other  circumstances.  A  dispute  also  arose  between  Ross 
and  the  company.  They  refused  his  demands,  and  soon  after 
he  abandoned  the  passengers  he  had  brought  out,  so  that  they 
were  left  without  food,  and  entirely  destitute  of  means  to  pro- 
vide for  themselves.  And  even  difl&culties  were  thrown  in  the 
way  of  their  getting  their  grants,  and  being. unaccustomed  to 
hunting  they  were  reduced  to  great  distress.  Most  of  them 
moved  away  to  Truro,  or  places  adjacent,  and  some  even  to 
Halifax  and  Windsor,  to  obtain  by  their  labour  the  necessary 
means  of  support  for  their  families.  Some  went  that  season, 
but  others  not  till  afterward.  Those  who  remained  had  only 
rude  camps  to  shelter  themselves  and  their  families,  during  the 
winter,  of  the  inclemency  of  which  they  had  previously  no 
conception.  To  obtain  food  for  their  families,  they  had  to  pro- 
ceed to  Truro  through  a  trackless  forest  and  in  deep  snow,  and 
there  obtaining  a  bushel  or  two  of  potatoes  and  sometimes  a 
little  flour,  in  exchange  for  their  labour,  they  had  to  return 
carrying  their  small  supply  on  their  backs,  or  in  winter  dragging 
it  on  hand  sleds  through  snow,  sometimes  three  or  four  feet 
deep. 

Those  who  remained  got  on  pretty  well  the  two  following 
seasons.  Timber  of  the  best  quality  abounded,  and  American 
vessels  came  in  which  supplied  them  with  necessaries  in  ex- 
change for  staves,  shingles,  &c.  And  they  were  beginning  to 
surmount  their  difficulties,  when  the  American  Revolutionary 
war  broke  out,  and  this  branch  of  trade  being  stopped,  they 
were  cut  oS"  from  all  supplies  from  abroad.  Even  salt  could  not 
be  obtained  except  by  boiling  down  sea  water,  and  in  summer 


78  MEMOIR   or   THE 

the  settlers  might  be  seen  in  fine  weather,  spending  days  at  the 
shore  preparing  their  winter's  supply. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  American  war  increased  the  jealousy 
between  them  and  the  American  settlers.  The  Scotch  were 
decided  loyalists,  while  those  who  had  come  from  Philadelphia, 
as  well  as  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  Truro  and  the  adjacent 
settlements,  had  a  very  warm  sympathy  with  the  Americans. 
A  number  of  the  former,  joined  by  reinforcements  from  Truro, 
seized  a  valuable  vessel  belonging  to  Captain  Lowden,  then 
loading  in  the  harbour,  and  started  off  to  join  the  Americans, 
who  then  had  possession  of  the  country  about  Bay  Verte.  On 
one  occasion  at  least  they  were  in  danger  from  the  Americans. 
Two  American  armed  vessels,  probably  the  same  which  plun- 
dered Charlotte  Town  and  carried  off  the  President  administer- 
ing the  government,  appeared  off  the  entrance  of  the  harbour 
threatening  to  plunder  the  people.  But  one  of  the  first  settlers 
named  Horton  went  on  board,  and  represented  that  there  were 
only  a  few  poor  Scotch  people  there  just  commencing  a  settle- 
ment, and  having  nothing  worth  taking  away.  Through  his 
persuasion  they  left  them  unmolested. 

We  cannot  give  the  names  of  all  the  passengers  by  the  ship 
Hector,  but  their  descendants  embrace  a  large  proportion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Pictou,  such  as  the  MacKays  and  Erasers,  of 
the  East  River,  the  MacKenzies,  MacLeods,  MacDonalds,  Ma- 
thesons,  Camerons,  and  Erasers,  of  West  River  and  Loch 
Broom,  and  the  Douglasses,  MacDonalds,  and  Erasers,  of  Middle 
River. 

These  settlers  had  scarcely  surmounted  the  first  difficulties 
of  their  settlement,  when  they  were  again,  plunged  into  difiicul 
ties  by  the  influx  of  a  class  in  poorer  circumstances  than  them- 
selves. These  were  a  body  of  emigrants,  who  had  been  sent  out 
from  Dumfriesshire  by  one  of  the  proprietors  of  Prince  Ed- 
ward Island  to  settle  his  land.  They  landed  at  Three  Rivers, 
part  of  them  in  the  year  1774,  and  part  of  thera  in  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  were  left  in  a  state  of  almost  entire  destitution. 
They  continued  there  about  eighteen  months,  and  I  have  heard 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  79 

the  most  affecting  tales  of  the  sufferings  they  endured.  In 
summer  their  principal  means  of  subsistence  was  the  shell-fish, 
■which  they  gathered  on  the  shore.  They  sowed  seed,  but  the 
crop,  even  the  potatoes  planted  were  devoured  by  mice.  In 
winter  they  were  reduced  to  the  very  verge  of  starvation.  Their 
principal  source  of  relief  was  a  settlement  of  French  people 
some  miles  distant.  From  them  they  received  supplies,  princi- 
pally of  potatoes,  in  exchange  for  the  clothes  they  had  brought 
with  them  from  Scotland,  until  they  scarcely  retained  suflScient 
to  cover  themselves  decently.  From  want  of  food  the  men  be- 
came reduced  to  such  a  state  of  weakness,  and  the  snow  was 
so  deep,  that  they  were  scarcely  able  to  carry  back  provisions 
for  their  families;  and  when  with  slow  steps  and  heavy  labour 
they  brought  them  home,  such  had  been  the  state  in  which 
they  had  left  the  children,  that  they  trembled  to  enter  their 
dwellings,  lest  they  should  find  them  dead,  and  sometimes 
waited  at  the  door  listening  for  any  sound,  that  might  indicate 
that  they  were  yet  alive. 

Having  heard  that  there  was  food  in  Pictou,  they  despatched 
one  of  their  number  to  enquire  into  the  prospects  there.  His 
report  was  on  the  whole  so  favourable,  that  fifteen  families  im- 
mediately removed  over.  They  arrived  in  almost  entire  desti- 
tution, and  though  the  Highlanders  received  them  with  all  the 
kindness  in  their  power,  yet  their  supplies  were  quite  inade- 
quate to  meet  such  an  influx,  and  were  soon  consumed.  The 
result  was  a  great  aggravation  of  their  hardships.  An  aged 
female  in  my  congregation  recollects  that  for  two  or  three 
months  in  summer  after  the  seed  was  committed  to  the  ground, 
she  and  other  children  were  obliged  to  live  on  berries  and  net- 
tles. They  were  sent  to  the  woods  during  part  of  the  day  to 
gather  wild  fruits,  and  the  only  other  meal  consisted  of  nettles 
boiled  to  form  a  sort  of  greens  j*  and  the  late  Andrew  Mar- 

*  "  In  spring  the  common  people  in  some  parts  of  Scotland  prepare  a  soup 
from  the  youug  tops  of  the  common  nettle,  which  are  tender  at  that  season. 
This  dish  is  referred  to  by  Andrew  Fairservice  in  Rob  Roy,  '  Nae  doubt  I 
suld  understand  my  ain  trade  of  horticulture,  seeing  I  was  bred  in  the  parish 


80  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

shall  used  to  tell  that  his  father  had  actually  beaten  him  for 
refusing  to  eat  beech  leaves  boiled,  which  he  would  not  do  for 
the  simple  reason  that  his  stomach  refused  them.  Though 
these  people  arrived  in  such  destitution,  they  were  among  the 
most  valuable  of  the  early  settlers  of  Pictou,  and  their  descen- 
dants to  this  day,  both  in  the  church  and  in  civil  society,  are 
among  the  most  respectable  members  of  the  community.  They 
embrace  the  MacLeans,  Smiths,  MacLellans,  Blaikies,  Claries, 
Marshalls,  Cultons,  Brydones,  Crocketts,  TurnbuUs,  &c. 

The  circumstances  of  the  settlers  however  soon  improved. 
By  cutting  the  timber  and  burning  it  on  the  land,  which  how- 
ever could  only  be  done  with  great  labour,  they  were  enabled 
to  sow  wheat  and  plant  potatoes  among  the  stumps,  and  cover- 
ing them  with  the  hoe,  they  derived  from  them  a  plentiful  re- 
turn. They  learned  too  to  hunt  moose,  by  which  means  they 
had  a  supply  of  meat  for  the  winter — to  make  sugar  from  the 
juice  of  the  maple,  and  to  catch  the  fish  which  abounded  in  the 
harbours  and  rivers.  They  were  still  however  at  a  loss  for 
British  goods,  but  in  the  year  1779,  John  Patterson,  after- 
ward known  as  Deacon  Patterson,  went  to  Scotland  and  brought 
out  a  supply,  and  afterward  continued  to  trade,  taking  wheat 
from  the  people  in  exchange  for  British  merchandise. 

The  next  accession  to  the  settlers  was  at  the  peace  with  the 
United  States  in  1783.  A  large  number  of  disbanded  soldiers 
who  had  served  in  the  war  arrived  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  and 
in  the  following  spring.  They  had  received  a  large  grant  of 
land,  still  called  the  82nd  Grant,  embracing  Fisher's  Grant, 
and  extending  eastward  to  Merigormish,  and  were  to  receive 
rations  of  food  for  some  time.  But  the  habits  of  the  army  ill 
fitted  them  for  the  work  of  clearing  the  forest,  or  for  any  em- 
ployment requiring  industry  and  perseverance.  A  number  of 
them  were  Highland  Catholics  from  the  island  of  Barra,  very 
ignorant.  These,  drawn  together  by  the  ties  of  religion  and 
clanship,   moved  farther  east  along  the   gulf  shore.      There 

of  Dreepdaily  near  Glasco,  where  they  raise  lang  kail  under  glass,  and  forco 
the  early  nettles  for  their  spring  kail.'  " — Chambers'  Journal. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGUEGOR,   D.D.  81 

would  probably  be  fifty  of  them  remaining  when  Dr.  MacGre- 
gor  came.  Most  of  them  were  idle  and  profligate,  but  a  few 
wore  sober  and  industrious,  and  their  descendants  are  among 
the  most  respectable  members  of  the  community.  Among 
these  may  be  mentioned  the  Carmichaels,  Iveses,  Ballantynes 
of  Cape  George,  Smiths,  Simpsons,  and  MacDonalds  of  Meri- 
goujish,  etc. 

In  the  latter  summer  there  arrived  a  small  band  of  High- 
landers, who  had  also  served  in  the  American  war.  They  had 
just  arrived  at  New  York,  when  the  war  commenced.  Orders 
had  been  sent  out  by  the  Home  Government  to  raise  a  regi- 
ment among  the  emigrants  from  Britain  to  serve  "  until  the 
present  unnatural  rebellion  be  suppressed,"  with  the  promise,  in 
addition  to  regular  pay,  of  200  acres  of  land  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  and  50  acres  additional  for  each  child.  They  were  in- 
duced partly  by  threats  and  partly  by  persuasion  to  enlist  in  the 
regiment  thus  raised,  which  was  called  the  84th  Royal  High- 
land Emigrants.  Having  served  during  the  war,  most  of  them 
obtained  their  land  on  Nine  Mile  River  and  Kennetcook,  but  a 
few  obtained  theirs  on  the  upper  settlement  of  the  East  River  of 
Pictou.  These  were  very  steady,  industrious  settlers,  and  their 
descendants  embrace  the  Grants,  MacDonalds,  Chisholms, 
MacMillans,  MacNaughtons,  Camerons,  and  Forbeses  of  that 
quarter. 

During  that  summer  (1784)  a  few  families  of  Highlanders, 
who  with  a  number  of  others  had  arrived  at  Halifax,  removed 
to  Pictou,  and  settled  on  the  East  River.  The  most  noteworthy 
of  these  were  Thomas  Eraser  and  Simon  Eraser,  who  had  been 
elders  in  the  parish  of  Kirkhill,  and  who  will  be  noticed  here- 
after. 

Such  were  the  settlers  of  Pictou  previous  to  Dr.  MacGre- 
gor's  arrival,  and  we  must  now  notice  briefly  their  social  and 
moral  condition.  "We  need  scarcely  say  that  they  were  still 
very  poor.  The  following  was  the  general  construction  of  their 
huts  :  The  sides  and  ends  were  composed  of  logs,  generally  in 
their  round  state,  laid  upon  one  another,  with  moss  stuffed  be- 


82  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

tween  tliem,  while  the  roof  was  formed  of  the  bark  of  trees, 
cut  in  pieces  of  equal  length,  disposed  in  regular  tiers,  the  ends 
and  the  edges  overlapping,  and  kept  in  their  places  by  poles 
running  the  whole  length  of  the  building,  placed  on  the  ends 
of  each  range  of  bark,  and  fastened  at  the  ends  of  the  build- 
ing by  withs.  Except  in  dimensions  they  might  answer  the 
description  given  by  the  Poet  of  Ellen's  bower : 

"  It  was  a  lodge  of  ample  size. 
But  strange  of  structure  and  device, 
Of  such  materials  as  around, 
The  workman's  hand  had  readiest  found. 
Lopped  of  their  boughs,  their  hoar  trunks  bared 
And  by  the  hatchet  rudely  squared, 
To  give  the  walls  their  destined  height 
The  sturdy  oak  and  ash  unite; 
While  moss,  and  clay,  and  leaves  combined. 
To  fence  each  crevice  from  the  wind  ; 
The  lighter  pine  trees  overhead, 
Their  slender  length  for  rafters  spread  ; 
And  withered  heath  and  rushes  dry, 
Supplied  a  russet  canopy." 

Our  readers  at  a  distance  however  must  not  suppose  that  in 
the  reality  such  a  building  possessed  the  charms  with  which  it 
is  invested  in  the  imagination  of  the  poet.  Their  furniture 
was  of  the  rudest  description,  frequently  a  block  of  wood  or  a 
rude  bench,  made  out  of  a  slab,  in  which  four  sticks  had  been 
inserted  as  legs,  served  for  chair  or  table.  Their  food  was  com- 
monly served  up  in  wooden  dishes  or  in  wooden  plates,  and 
eaten  with  wooden  spoons,  except  when,  discarding  such  inter- 
ventions, they  adopted  the  more  direct  method  of  gathering 
round  the  pot  of  potatoes  on  the  floor.  And  among  the  new 
comers  at  least,  a  little  straw  formed  the  only  bed.  Money  was 
scarcely  seen,  and  almost  all  trade  was  done  by  barter ;  wheat, 
and  maple  sugar,  being  the  principal  circulating  medium. 

They  were  also  very  ignorant.  Few  of  the  Highlanders 
could  read.  Of  course  there  were  but  few  books  among  them. 
In  general  they  were  particularly  ignorant  in  regard  to  religion. 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREQOR,   D.D.  83 

Of  the  first  settlers,  the  Harrises  and  Squire  Patterson  were 
Presbyterians,  the  father  of  the  former  being  from  the  north 
of  Irehind,  and  the  latter  from  Scotland,  and  they  as  well  as 
others  maintained  a  respect  for  the  duties  of  relijj;ion.  Among 
the  Highlanders  some  were  decidedly  pious,  of  whom  Colin 
Douglass  and  Kenneth  Fraser  are  especially  worthy  of  notice, 
but  among  the  rest  the  state  of  religion  was  very  low.  So 
little  did  a  number  of  them  know  or  care  about  the  subject, 
that  we  have  heard  it  said,  that  if  a  clever  priest  had  come 
here  at  the  time  that  Dr.  MacGregor  did,  the  one  half  would 
have  become  Roman  Catholics.  An  individual  still  living,  told 
the  writer,  that  at  the  first  funeral  he  ever  attended,  being  that 
of  a  cliild,  the  father,  a  nominal  Protestant  and  Presbyterian 
too,  as  soon  as  the  grave  was  completed,  kneeled  down  at  the 
foot  and  commenced  praying  for  the  departed.  And  I  have 
heard  of  a  father  and  mother  kneeling  down,  the  one  at  tlie 
head  and  the  other  at  the  foot  of  their  child's  grave,  to  pray 
for  it.  It  is  even  said  that  some  of  them  were  in  the  habit  of 
praying  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  settlers  from  Dumfriesshire 
were  however  more  intelligent  and  much  better  instructed  in 
religious  matters. 

Until  Dr.  MacGregor's  arrival,  they  had  never  enjoyed  the 
regular  ministrations  of  the  gospel.  They  were  not  however 
without  the  means  of  grace.  In  the  petition  from  Pictou  for 
a  minister  it  is  said,  that  "  the  Philadelphia  company  made 
provision  for  and  sent  a  minister,  viz.,  the  Rev.  James  Lyon, 
at  the  first  settlement,  yet  lie  did  not  continue  among  us,  which 
very  much  discouraged  the  people,  and  was  exceedingly  detri- 
mental to  the  settling  of  the  place."  Mr.  Lyon  was  one  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  Philadelphia  company.  How  long  lie  re- 
mained in  Pictou  v/e  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  Prom 
the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey, 
by  which  he  was  ordained,  it  appears  that  he  v.'as  in  the  Pro- 
vince in  the  year  1772,  and  that  the  Presbytery  corresponded 
with  him  till  that  date.  Wherever  he  laboured,  it  was  not  iu 
Pictou,  where  the  only  memorial   of  his  presence    is  the  name 


84  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

Lyon's  Brook,  still  given  to  a  small  stream  about  three  miles 
from  the  town  of  Pictou,  on  the  side  of  which  he  had  taken  up 
land. 

The  pious  settlers  however,  in  the  absence  of  a  minister,  put 
forth  their  best  efforts  to  maintain  religion  among  themselves,  and 
to  impress  it  upon  the  rising  generation.  Among  the  first  settlers 
was  one  named  James  Davidson,  who  was  instrumental  in  doing 
much  good.  Even  before  the  arrival  of  the  Hector's  passen- 
gers, he  gathered  the  young  for  religious  instruction  on  the  Sab- 
bath day,  at  Lyon's  Brook.  This  was  the  first  Sabbath-school 
in  the  county  of  Pictou,  and  I  think  I  may  safely  say  in  the 
Province,  and  was  established  some  time  before  Kaikes  com- 
menced that  movement,  which  has  rendered  these  institutions 
every  where  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  the  Christian  Church. 

The  Scottish  settlers,  too,  were  not  unmindful  of  the  lessons 
of  their  native  land.  They  were  accustomed  to  assemble  on 
the  Sabbath  day  for  religious  worship,  Robert  Marshall  holding 
what  the  Highlanders  call  "  a  reading"  in  English,  and  Colin 
Douglass  in  Gaelic.  The  exercises  at  these  meetings  consisted 
of  praise  and  prayer,  and  especially,  as  their  name  indicated, 
reading  the  Scriptures  and  religious  works.  Marshall  was  a 
man  of  great  theological  information,  and  good  gifts.  Doug- 
lass had  not  the  same  gifts,  but  he  was  one  of  the  few  among 
the  Highlanders  who  could  read  tolerably  well.  But  there 
were  scarcely  any  books  in  Gaelic,  and  as  the  old  people  among 
the  Highlanders  understood  no  English,  they  were  under  great 
disadvantages.  The  books  in  English  were  also  few.  Even 
those  that  the  Dumfries  people  had  brought  out  with  them  had 
been  mostly  consumed  by  the  mice  in  Prince  Edward  Island. 
The  few  they  possessed  were  well  used.  An  imperfect  copy  of 
Boston's  Fourfold  State  did  good  service.  An  old  man,  still 
living  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight,  dates  back  some  of  his  earliest 
religious  impressions  to  the  reading  of  it,  and  retains  such  a 
feeling  of  veneration  for  the  work  as  to  regard  it  as  next  to  the 
Bible  the  best  book  ever  produced.  Of  these  meetings  we  can- 
not help  thinking,  that  they  realized  the  divine  word  :    "  Then 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREGOR,   D.D.  85 

they  that  feared  the  Lord  spuke  often  one  to  another,  and  the 
Lord  hearkened  and  lieard  it,  and  a  book  of  remembrance  was 
v?ritten  before  him  for  them  that  feared  the  Lord,  and  that 
thought  upon  his  name." 

A  larger  supply  of  books  was  obtained  after  the  late  John 
Patterson  visited  Scotland  in  1779.  lie  had  before  leaving 
Scotland  built  a  number  of  small  cottages  on  what  was  called 
a  thirty-nine  year  tack,  at  Quarrelltown,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Paisley  his  native  town,  and  during  his  absence  the  rents 
had  accumulated  to  about  £80.  This  he  invested  partly  in 
goods,  but  principally  in  books.  Keturning  by  way  of  New 
York  he  bought  a  large  supply  of  the  New  England  Primer. 
Blessed  book  !  In  how  many  youthful  minds  hast  thou  sowed 
the  seeds  of  heavenly  truth  !  Young  as  we  are,  we  too  have  tender 
recollections  of  thee.  Thy  very  shape  and  appearance  was  pe- 
culiar. Thy  form  was  square,  a  figure  well  chosen  to  represent 
perfection.  Thy  paper  was  dark  in  colour  and  somewhat  dingy 
in  appearance,  as  well  beseemed  the  modest  humility  of  thy 
character.  We  have  seen  thee  since  in  perfectly  white  paper, 
in  shape  like  an  ordinary  catechism,  with  bright  red  cover — 
Pah  !  thou  art  not  the  Primer  of  our  youth.  As  well  present 
to  us  John  Knox  in  the  picture  of  a  modern  dandy,  with  Join- 
ville  necktie,  or  his  renowned  daughter  Mrs.  Welsh,  in  hoops 
and  crinoline.  Then  thy  frontispiece  with  the  picture  of  John 
Rogers  perishing  in  the  flames,  while  his  wife  and  ten  children 
were  standing  by.  Did  ever  work  in  gallery  of  Fine  Arts  ex- 
cite more  attention  and  study,  and  influence  a  greater  number 
of  minds  for  good,  impressing  upon  them  the  principles  of  re- 
ligious liberty,  and  instilling  into  them  the  martyr  spirit  of 
Christianity,  than  did  that  same  old  wood  cut  ?  Then  its  con- 
tents, how  did  we  go  through  its  alphabet  with  two  lines  of 
rhyme  and  an  illustrative  picture  for  each  letter,  beginning  at 
that  foundation  truth  of  theology. 

In  Adam's  fall 
Wo  sinned  all, 


86  M:;.MoiR  of  the 

and  leading  us  on  frona  A  to  Z,  till  our  attention  was  directed 
to  a  little  man  just  appearing  amid  tlie  umbrageous  foliage  of 
a  tree,  and  we  read  the  mellifluous  lines, 

Zaeclicus  bo 

Did  climb  the  tree 

His  Lord  to  see  1 

And  then  the  Shorter  Catechism, — But  we  must  stop.  0 
New  England  !  where  hast  thou  been  drifting  in  thy  morals  and 
theology,  since  that  primer  has  gone  from  thy  schools  and  thy 
households,  even  as  the  glory  from  Israel  I 

But  to  our  narrative.  These  were  distributed  gratuitously 
among  the  young;  all  that  was  required  of  them  being  that  they 
should  learn  the  contents,  which  they  did  very  rapidly. 

They  also  received  occasional  ministerial  service.  As  early 
as  the  year  1780,  and  probably  before,  they  were  visited  by 
the  E.ev.  Daniel  Cock  and  the  Rev.  David  Smith.  For  several 
summers  previous  to  Dr.  MacGregor's  arrival,  one  of  them,  but 
most  frequently  Mr.  Cock,  visited  them,  preaching  for  a  week 
or  two  in  private  houses  or  in  the  open  air,  and  baptizing  chil- 
dren. The  people  deemed  it  absolutely  necessary  to  attend  to 
this  last  service.  Hence  even  the  Highlanders  got  their  chil- 
dren baptized,  although  sometimes  they  scarcely  understood  a 
single  word  that  the  minister  said.  Indeed  the  people  con- 
sidered themselves  under  Mr,  Cock's  charge,  and  a  number  of 
them  used  to  travel  to  Truro  to  attend  his  sacraments,  and  in 
some  instances  parents  carried  their  children  over  to  be  bap- 
tized. 

They  also  received  some  visits  from  stragglers.  The  re- 
nowned Henry  Alline  visited  them.  In  his  journal  he  says, 
under  date  July  25th,  1782,  "■  Got  to  a  place  cnlled  Picto,  wliere 
I  had  no  thought  of  making  any  stay,  but  finding  the  Spirit  to 
attend  my  preaching  I  staid  there  thirteen  days,  and  preached 
in  all  the  different  parts  of  the  settlement.  I  fowndifonr  Chris- 
tians in  this  place,  who  were  greatly  revived  and  rejoiced  that 
the  gospel  was  sent  among  them."     He  preached  at  Alexander 


UKV.    JAMKS    ]\IACGUE(J01l,    L).I).  87 

Eraser's  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Middle  River,  in  William  jMac- 
Kay's  barn  on  the  East  River,  and  his  last  sermon  was  preached 
at  the  head  of  the  harbour.  On  that  occasion  he  got  some  of 
the  most  intelligent  of  the  Highlanders  to  translate  into  Gaelic. 
There  were  also  some  Indians  present  whom  he  addressed  in 
French.  He  had  a  very  free  and  sociable  turn  with  him  in 
private,  his  conversation  being  distinguished  by  readiness  in 
quoting  Scripture,  and  his  manner  was  very  engaging.  A 
number  of  the  people  were  taken  with  him,  and  two  or  three 
particularly  so.  He  did  not  broach  any  of  his  peculiar  views. 
Some  of  the  old  people  however  were  dubious  about  him.  Co- 
lin Douglass,  at  parting  from  him,  said,  "  I  am  not  very  sure 
about  you;  I  like  what  you  say  very  well,  but  you  did  not  come 
in  by  the  door,"  alluding  to  the  irregular  mode  of  his  enter- 
ing the  ministry.  "  Oh,"  replied  Alline,  "  I  had  no  opportu- 
nity of  coming  in  any  other  way  than  by  the  window.  But 
you  just  follow  me  as  far  as  I  follow  Christ."  Robert  Marshall, 
on  bidding  him  farewell,  said,  "  If  you  are  a  true  minister  of 
Christ,  may  the  Lord  prosper  you,  and  if  you  are  not,  I  hope 
that  we  may  never  see  your  face  again."  After  his  departure 
Mr.  Cock  visited  them  to  warn  them  against  him.  He  asked 
Colin  Douglass  what  he  thought  of  Mr.  A's  preaching.  He 
replied,  that  what  he  understood,  he  liked  very  well,  but  some 
of  what  he  said  he  did  not  understand,  which  he  attributed  to 
his  own  ignorance  (an  exhibition  of  wisdom  not  common  among 
hearers  of  the  gospel  in  our  day).  "  Oh,"  said  Mr.  Cock, 
"  that  is  just  the  way  he  would  act  with  you.  If  he  wanted 
to  drown  you  he  would  not  take  you  into  a  deep  place  at  first. 
He  would  take  you  in  where  the  water  was  only  to  the  knees, 
and  afterward  take  you  in  deeper  until  finally  he  would  souse 
you  overhead."  As  an  example  of  the  poverty  of  some  of 
the  first  settlers  at  that  time,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Robert 
Marshall  borrowed  Colin  Douglass's  coat  to  hear  him  one  day, 
while  Colin  wore  it  himself  on  the  next.  Alline,  hearing  of 
his  circumstances,  took  off  his  own  coat,  and  gave  him  his  vest. 
They  were  also  visited  by  the  Rev.  James  Fraser,  who  had 


88  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

been  a  chaplain  in  the  army  during  the  American  war,  and  who 
had  laboured  for  some  time  at  Onslow.  He  was  but  an  indif- 
ferent character,  and  afterward  moved  to  Miramichi. 

But  there  was  a  strong  desire  to  have  the  services  of  a  set- 
tled minister.  A  meeting  was  accordingly  held  in  the  summer 
of  1784,  at  which  it  was  resolved  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the 
services  of  a  minister  for  themselves.  For  this  purpose  they 
engaged  to  pay  annually  the  sura  of  £80,  for  the  first  two  years, 
£90  for  the  two  succeeding  years,  and  £100  afterward,  which 
they  agreed  to  increase  as  their  means  enabled  them,  besides 
paying  his  passage  out.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  send 
to  Scotland  a  petition  for  a  minister.  Their  petition,  whicli 
was  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Cock,  is  given  in  the  Appendix,  and  the 
result,  as  already  described,  was  the  securing  the  services  of 
Dr.  MacGregor. 

This  account  of  the  early  social  and  moral  condition  of  Pictou, 
though  it  may  be  deemed  by  some  unnecessary  to  our  work, 
will,  we  believe,  assist  in  giving  the  reader  some  idea  of  the 
scene  of  the  Doctor's  labours  at  the  time  of  his  entering  upon 
it.     AVe  shall  return  to  his  own  narrative  in  our  next  chapter. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR.    D.D.  89 


CHAPTER   V. 

JOURNEY   TO    PICTOU   AND    FIRST    PREACHING    THERE    1786. 
"  What  manner  of  entering  in  we  had  unto  you." — 1  Thess.  i.  9. 

"  On  Thursday,  13th  (July,)  a  farmer  from  Truro,  one  of 
Mr.  Cock's  hearers,  offered,  if  I  would  start  next  day,  to  ac- 
company me  through  the  woods  to  Truro,  which  would  be  sixty 
miles  of  the  hundred  to  Pictou.  I  hired  a  horse,  and  we  set 
off  on  Friday  afternoon  on  a  good  road,  but  a  miserably  rocky 
soil.  About  eleven  miles  from  Halifax  the  road  grew  worse, 
but  the  woods  became  gradually  better,  till  their  beauty, 
strength,  and  loftiness  far  surpassed  any  thing  of  the  kind  I 
had  ever  seen  in  the  Highlands.  I  imagined  myself  riding 
through  the  policies  of  a  Scottish  duke ;  but  the  policies  of  no 
Scottish  duke  can  compare  in  grandeur  with  the  forests  of  Nova 
Scotia.  After  riding  two  or  three  miles  through  this  beautiful 
scene,  I  began  to  look  for  a  house,  but  no  house,  great  or  small, 
appeared ;  till  after  we  had  ridden  eight  miles  more,  there 
appeared  a  small  clearing  in  rocky  land,  where,  after  supping 
upon  good  bread,  fish,  and  bohea  tea,  we  lodged  for  the  night. 
Thenceforth  we  had  no  road.  A  narrow  avenue  had  been  cut 
down  indeed,  and  some  of  the  trunks,  cut  across,  and  rolled 
a  little  out  of  the  way,  but  many  of  them  lay  as  they  fell,  and 
none  of  the  stumps  or  roots  were  removed. 

"  In  proportion  as  the  land  became  less  rocky,  and  in  every 

place  where  it  was  wet,  the  horses  had  to  wade  nearly  to  the 

knees,  and  often  far  above  them,  in  mud  or  water,  and  the  one 

horse  behoved  to  put  his  foot  in  the  very  spots  where  the  other 
8» 


90  MEMOIR    or   THE 

before  him  put  his.  Next  morning  Tve  rode  eight  miles  before 
we  breakfasted,  which  we  did  on  fish,  bread,  and  tea  :  then 
with  great  exertion  and  fatigue  (to  me)  eighteen  miles  to  din- 
ner, which  again  was  composed  of  bread,  fish,  and  tea.  I  was 
very  thankful  for  our  safety,  as  the  greatest  part  of  the  road 
was  both  difficult  and  dangerous,  on  account  of  the  many 
swamps  full  of  roots  and  logs,  which  we  had  to  pass.  I  was 
attentive  to  direct  the  horse  as  dexterously  as  possible,  and 
keep  a  good  bridle  hand,  and  often  ascribed  the  safety  of  both 
to  my  cautious  management.  But  at  last  we  came  to  a  place 
60  apparently  dangerous,  that  it  seemed  quite  impossible  to 
escape  without  broken  bones.  There  was  no  way  to  get  to  a 
side,  or  to  go  back,  and  the  horse  was  in  such  haste  to  get  on, 
that  he  did  not  allow  time  to  think.  I  threw  the  bridle  upon 
his  neck  in  perfect  despair.  How  amazed  was  I  to  find  myself 
completely  delivered  from  the  great  danger  in  a  few  seconds  by 
the  sagacity  of  a  mere  beast !  This  incident  was  of  great  use 
to  me  afterwards,  by  inspiring  me  with  perfect  confidence  in 
the  horses  reared  in  the  forest  here.  Toward  evening  we  came 
to  the  river  Stewiacke,  where  there  was  a  considerable  clearing 
on  the  side  of  the  river,  and  the  soil  very  fertile.  It  is  called 
intervale  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  havgh  or  dale  in  Scotland. 

"  The  river  was  small,  though  still  and  deep ;  and  seeing 
neither  boat  nor  bridge,  I  thought  only  of  swimming  across  it, 
but  my  companion  showed  me  a  trough  on  the  edge  of  the  river 
on  the  other  side,  told  me  that  it  was  one  of  the  canoes  of 
Nova  Scotia,  and  that  it  would  carry  us  over  in  safety.  Per- 
ceiving a  man  mowing  hay  at  some  distance,  on  the  same  side 
of  the  river  with  the  canoe,  my  fellow-traveller  called  aloud  to 
him.  He  understood  that  we  wanted  a  passage,  at  once  threw 
aside  his  scythe,  and  on  reaching  the  river  turned  the  canoe 
upon  its  side,  to  empty  it  of  some  water  which  it  had  leaked, 
launched  it,  and  quickly  paddled  it  over  to  us.  He  directed 
us  to  take  the  saddles  off  our  horses,  and  helped  us  to  drive 
them  into  the  river,  to  swim  across.  Putting  my  saddle  in  the 
bottom  of  the  canoe,  he  desired  me  to  sit  down  upon  it;  I  did 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOil,    D.D.  91 

SO,  and  he  ferried  me  across  quickly  and  safely,  and  afterwards 
my  companion  in  the  same  manner.  Thes^e  uperations  being 
new  to  me,  I  observed  thcni  with  no  siunll  degree  of  curiosity. 
The  man  was  dressed  in  a  home  made  check  or  woollen  shirt, 
and  striped  trousers,  without  hat,  handkerchief,  or  stocking. 
I  admired  his  dress,  as  the  best  I  had  seen  for  labourers  in  hot 
w^eather,  which  was  now  the  case  in  a  high  degree.  He  ac- 
companied us  to  his  house,  put  our  horses  to  pasture,  and 
lodged  us  hospitably.  Here  again  wc  supped  on  bread,  fish, 
and  tea,  so  that  I  began  to  conclude  that  there  were  no  other 
eatables  in  Nova  Scotia.  Upon  inquiry,  I  was  told  that  the 
country  people  could  not  afford  meat,  as  it  kept  fresh  for  only 
a  very  short  time  in  such  hot  weather;  but  that  fish  could 
be  had  at  any  time,  as  almost  every  house  stood  beside  a  stream, 
and  the  fish  were  plentiful  in  proportion  to  the  scarcity  of  the 
inhabitants.  We  had  passed  three  houses  only  during  the 
whole  day,  and  each  was  by  a  stream.  I  was  also  told  that 
they  caught  fish  in  winter,  when  the  ice  was  a  foot  thick,  as 
well  as  in  summer,  merely  by  cutting  a  hole  through  the  ice, 
and  letting  down  a  baited  hook.  The  fish,  seeing  the  light  by 
the  hole,  come  to  it  immediately,  and  bile  readily.  It  was 
said,  moreover,  to  be  common  for  country  people  to  keep  beef, 
moose  meat,  and  caribou  meat  (I  suppose  the  same  as  the  elk 
and  reindeer)  fresh,  in  the  snow,  for  three  months. 

"■  The  house  in  which  we  lodged  consisted  of  a  kitchen  and 
two  or  three  bed-closets,  with  a  garret  for  lumber,  and  a  sleep- 
ing-place for  some  of  the  children.  We  all  sat  in  the  kitchen, 
and  here  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  how  the  country  wo- 
men prepared  their  bread.  After  kneading  the  dough,  the 
landlady  formed  it  into  a  beautiful  large  cake  of  an  oval  form, 
nearly  an  inch  thick,  swept  a  hot  part  of  the  hearth  clean,  and 
there  laid  it  flat.  She  tlien  spread  over  it  a  thin  layer  of  fine 
cold  ashes,  and  over  that  a  thick  layer  of  hot  ashes,  mi.xed 
with  burning  coals.  By  the  time  the  tea-kettle  boiled,  the 
bread  was  baked.  The  landlady  with  a  fire-shovel  removed 
the  ashes,  and  took  it  off  the  hearth;  and  then,  after  a  little 


92  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

agitation  to  shake  oflF  the  ashes,  she  wiped  it  with  a  cloth, 
much  cleaner  than  I  could  have  expected  when  it  was  laid 
down.  It  made  very  good  and  agreeable  bread.  It  seems 
this  was  the  way  of  baking  bread  in  the  dnys  of  Abraham, 
(Gen.  xviii.  6.)  It  is  a  speedy  way;  and,  though  not  clean, 
still  not  so  foul  as  a  stranger  would  imagine.  Sonie  cover  the 
cake  with  paper  when  it  is  laid  upon  the  hearth,  which  keeps 
it  perfectly  clean,  but  this  is  not  a  common  mode.  Our  host, 
I  suppose,  kept  up  family  worship,  for  the  Bible  was  at  hand, 
and  laid  it  on  the  table  after  supper,  which  I  had  seen  done  before. 

"  My  companion  roused  me  pretty  early  next  morning,  which 
was  Sabbath,  intending  to  be  at  Truro  to  attend  public  worship. 
I  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  travelling  on  the  Lord's  day,  but 
could  not  persuade  him  to  stay ;  and,  having  found  him  ex- 
tremely useful,  I  thought  it  a  work  of  necessity  to  accompany 
him.  When  we  went  to  the  pasture  to  saddle  our  horses,  his 
was  not  to  be  found.  We  sought  for  it  a  long  time,  but  in  vain. 
I  then  proposed  to  stay  where  we  were  till  next  day.  Truro 
was  but  fourteen  miles  oflF,  and  we  might  still  be  in  time  for 
sermon,  had  the  road  been  tolerable;  but  it  was  no  better  than 
what  we  had  travelled  already.  He  replied  that  we  could  be  at 
Truro  in  time  for  the  afternoon  service;  that  doubtless  his 
horse  was  moving  slowly  homeward,  eating  as  he  went,  and 
that  probably  we  would  overtake  him  after  travelling  a  mile  or 
two.  So  saying,  he  took  his  saddle  and  bridle  on  his  own  back, 
and  invited  me  to  come  along  with  him.  I  obeyed,  as  I  could 
not  think  either  of  travelling  alone,  or  waiting  till  chance 
would  bring  forward  another  traveller,  which  might  not  be  for 
a  number  of  days.  We  overtook  the  horse,  as  he  expected, 
and  reached  Truro  by  the  time  the  afternoon's  service  was  to 
begin ;  but  I  was  so  fatigued  as  to  be  fit  for  nothing  but  rest. 

"  On  Monday,  I  went  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Cock,  the  minister  of  Truro ;  a  man  of  warm  piety,  kind  man- 
ners, and  primitive  simplicity.  He  received  me  with  great 
kindness;  but  when  we  came  to  speak  of  uniting,  as  members 
of  the  same  presbytery,  he  was  disappointed,  and  a  little  cha- 


REV.    JAMES    MACQREGOR,    D.D.  93 

grined  at  my  refusal,  lie  was  the  more  disappointed,  as  he 
was  the  writer  of  the  petition  which  the  Pictou  people  sent 
home,  and  never  had  doubted  but  that  the  person  it  would 
bring  out  would  sit  in  presbytery  with  him ;  besides,  he  had 
given  most  supply  of  sermon  and  other  ordinances  to  the  Pictou 
people  previous  to  my  arrival.  He  a-ccompauied  me  next  day 
to  Londonderry,  fifteen  miles  down  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  to  visit 
the  Rev.  David  Smith,  then  minister  of  that  place.  lie  was  a 
man  of  more  learning  and  penetration,  but  less  amiable,  than 
Mr.  Cock.  His  untoward  disposition  had  alienated  a  great  part 
of  the  congregation  from  him.  He  proposed  several  judicious 
considerations  to  induce  me  to  join  the  presbytery;  but  at  that 
time  they  had  no  influence  upon  me.  I  believe  that  every 
honest  Scottish  emigrant  that  goes  abroad,  carries  with  him 
a  conscientious  attachment  to  the  peculiarities  of  his  profession, 
which  nothing  but  time  and  a  particular  acquaintance  with  the 
country  he  goes  to  will  enable  him  to  lay  aside.  It  may  be  so 
with  more  than  Scotchmen  :  it  was  so  with  me.  They  both  in- 
formed me  that  their  presbytery  was  to  meet  that  day  two 
weeks,  and  proposed  to  me  to  come  to  the  presbytery,  to  preach 
to  it,  and  to  converse  with  the  members  about  the  point  in 
question.  To  all  these  things  I  agreed.  Mr.  Cock  and  I 
lodged  with  Mr.  Smith  that  night,  and  next  day  we  returned 
to  Truro. 

"  I  understood  that  two  gentlemen  of  Truro  intended  to  go 
to  Pictou  on  Friday;  therefore  I  waited  willingly  for  their  com- 
pany. Till  this  time  there  had  been  no  road  from  Truro  to 
Pictou  but  a  blaze ;  that  is,  a  chip  taken  ofi"  every  tree,  in  the 
direction  which  the  road  should  have,  to  help  the  traveller  to 
keep  straight  on ;  but  a  number  of  Pictou  Highlanders  were 
now  cutting  down  the  trees  where  the  road  was  intended  to  be ; 
for  the  Government  had  voted  money  to  open  it.  My  com- 
panions had  taken  with  them  a  small  flask  full  of  rum  and  a 
ham  of  lamb,  to  refresh  us  by  the  way,  as  it  was  too  far  to 
travel  fasting,  and  there  was  no  public  house.  Just  as  we 
thought  it  time  to   take  our  snack^  we  came  to  a  place  where 


94  MEMOIR   OP   TUB 

there  was  a  patch  of  jrood  grass,  and  a  boiling  pot  hung  on 
sticks,  laid  on  two  forked  sticks  stuck  in  the  ground.  Here 
we  took  our  snack.  The  liani  rather  more  than  sufficing  us, 
we  agreed  to  put  the  bones  and  the  remaining  meat  into  the 
pot,  that  the  roadmen  might  get  the  good  of  them.  We  then 
took  each  a  mouthful  out  of  the  flask,  and  mounted  our  horses. 
Ey-and-by  we  met  two  men  on  foot  going  toward  Truro,  and 
coming  to  the  roadmen,  I  told  them  in  Gaelic  that  I  was  the 
minister  expected  to  Pictou.  They  all  came  and  shook  hands 
with  me,  and  welcomed  me  cordially.''^ 

"It  was  well  for  my  companions  and  me  that  the  two  men 
went  along,  otherwise  we  stood  fair  for  a  good  threshing.  The 
Highlanders  went  by-and-by  to  their  dinner,  and  finding  the 
meat  and  bones  in  the  pot,  were  exasperated  to  the  highest  de- 
gree against  those  who  did  it,  and  vowed  revenge,  imagining 
that  it  was  done  purely  to  insult  them.  As  it  could  not,  in 
their  opinion,  be  done  by  any  of  the  decent  gentlemen  who 
went  to  Pictou,  it  must  have  been  done  by  the  two  footmen  wlio 
went  to  Truro.  They  were  so  persuaded  of  this,  that  the  two 
most  fiery  of  them  set  off  after  them  to  give  them  a  drubbing; 
but  having  pursued  them  three  or  four  miles  without  overtak- 
ing them,  they  returned — not  forgetting,  however,  to  publish 
that,  if  ever  they  came  to  Pictou,  they  might  expect  broken 
bones.  I  took  occasion,  when  they  returned  home,  after  finish- 
ing their  job  on  the  road,  to  inform  them  who  put  the  meat 
and  bones  into  the  pot,  and  from  what  motive  it  was  done. 
They  were  satisfied ;  but  I  saw  it  needful  to  caution  them 
against  such  rashness  hereafter."]" 

*•  The  overseer  was  James  MacDonald,  afterward  an  elder,  and  long  one  of 
his  most  intimate  companions  and  steadfast  supporters,  who  died  in  the  year 
1857  at  the  age  of  over  100  years.  He  used  to  tell  that  he  was  the  first  inan 
to  welcome  Dr.  MacGregor  to  Pictou.  When  far  in  his  dotage,  describing 
the  scene  to  us,  when  the  Doctor  came  forward,  and  told  them  tliathe  was  the 
minister  for  Pictou.  he  said,  "  Wasn't  we  rejoiced  ?"  The  opening  of  the  road 
at  tliis  time,  however,  was  only  cutting  down  the  trees  along  a  narrow  avenue, 
just  wide  enough  for  the  passage  of  a  single  traveller.  The  stumps  were  not 
removed,  neither  was  the  ground  levelled. 

f  This  incident,  trivial  as  it  may  appear,  illustrates  one  feature  of  the  char- 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  95 

"Before  night,  we  arrived  at  George  MacConnell's,  the  near- 
est house  to  Truro.*  This  road  Wiis  better  than  the  road  be- 
tween Pictou  and  Halifax;  for  as  few  horses  h;id  ever  passed 
on  it,  the  surface  was  not  broken  nor  cut  into  holes,  like  the 
other.  I  had  a  hearty  welcome  from  George;  but  as  there 
was  only  one  apartment  in  his  house,  he  took  me  over,  fur 
lodging,  to  his  next  neighbour's,  William  Smith,  in  whose 
house  there  was  a  sort  of  two.  I  had  now  arrived  within  the 
bounds  of  my  congregation,  and  hod  a  sample  of  it;  but  the 
sample  was  better  than  the  stock.  William  Smith  •was  an 
active,  public  spirited  man  ;  but  he  did  not  live  long,  and  his 
death  was  to  me  the  death  of  half  the  congregation.  Having 
asked  Smith  where  it  would  be  most  proper  to  have  sermon  on 
Sabbath,  he  answered  at  Squire  Patterson's,  which  was  ten 
miles  off,  one  half  of  wdiich  must  be  travelled  by  land  and  the 
other  by  water.  I  requested  him  to  give  notice  of  it  as  v/idely 
as  possible.  He  said  he  would  ;  and  did  it  so  eifectually,  that 
they  came  to  the  sermon  from  every  corner  in  Pictou,  except 
the  upper  settlement  of  the  East  Piiver. 

"  Next  morning,  I  moved  down  the  West  Kivcr  toward  the 
harbour  and  Squire  Patterson's.  William  Smith  accompanied 
mc  past  two  or  three  of  the  houses,  at  which  we  called,  and 
delivered  me  to  Hugh  Fraser,  afterward  an  elder,  who  engaged 
to  see  me  safe  at  Squire  Patterson's.  We  called  at  the  remain- 
ing houses  down  the  West  lliver,  then  travelled  three  miles 
without  a  house,  when  the  harbour  appeared — a  beautiful  sheet 
of  water,  very  much  like  one  of  the  Highland  lakes  in  Scot- 
land, about  nine  miles  long  and  one  broad.  It  is  an  excellent 
harbour,  but  its  entrance  is  rather  narrow.     Three  rivers  run 


acter  of  the  inhabitants  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  probably  of  all  new  countries, 
compared  with  those  of  older  ones.  In  the  latter,  a  person  would  consider 
himself  as  doing  a  favour  to  a  body  of  labourers,  or  any  poor  people,  by 
giving  them  the  remains  of  his  feast ;  but  where  the  necessaries  of  life  are  so 
abundant  as  in  Nova  Scotia,  there  is  no  class  of  the  community  to  whom  the 
offering  of  such  would  not  be  apt  to  be  considered  somewhat  in  the  light  of 
an  insult,  in  the  same  way  as  it  was  by  these  Highlanders. 
*  This  was  about  ten  miles  from  Pictou. 


96  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

into  it.  The  West  River  falls  into  the  west  end  or  head  of  it; 
and  the  Middle  and  East  River  into  the  south  side  of  it.  The 
rivers  are  small,  none  of  them  having  a  run  of  thirty  miles; 
but  the  East  River  is  as  large  as  the  other  two,  and  is  often 
called  by  the  Highlanders  the  Great  River.  The  greatest 
detriment  it  sustains  is  by  its  freezing  for  three  or  four  montlis 
in  winter,  so  that  no  vessel  can  come  in  or  go  out.  When  I 
looked  round  the  shores  of  the  harbour,  I  was  greatly  disap- 
pointed and  cast  down,  for  there  was  scarcel}'  any  thing  to  be 
seen  but  woods  growing  down  to  the  water's  edge.  Here  and 
there  a  mean  timber  hut  was  visible  in  a  small  clearing,  which 
appeared  no  bigger  than  a  garden  compared  to  the  woods. 
Nowhere  could  I  see  two  houses  without  some  wood  between 
them.  I  asked  Hugh  Eraser,  'Where  is  the  town  V  He  replied, 
'There  is  no  town  but  what  you  see.'  The  petition  sent  home 
had  tl'.e  word  townsJiij)  in  it,  whence  I  had  foolishly  inferred 
that  there  was  a  town  in  Pictou.  The  reader  may  have  some 
conception  of  my  disappointments,  when  he  is  informed  that  I 
had  inferred  also  the  existence  of  many  comforts  in  the  town, 
and  among  them  a  barber,  for  1  had  never  been  partial  to  the 
operation  of  shaving.  My  disappointments  were  immensely 
discouraging  to  me ;  for  I  looked  on  myself  as  an  exile  from 
the  Church  and  society.  I  saw  that  Nova  Scotia,  and  espe- 
cially Pictou,  was  very  far  behind  the  idea  which  I  had  formed 
of  them.  I  renounced  at  once  all  idea  of  ever  seeing  a  town 
in  Pictou.  Nothing  but  necessity  kept  me  there;  for  I  durst 
not  think  of  encountering  the  dangerous  road  to  Halifiis  again, 
and  there  was  no  vessel  in  Pictou  to  take  me  away,  and  even 
had  there  been  one,  I  had  not  money  to  pay  my  passage  home. 
"  Hugh  Eraser,  having  borrowed  a  canoe,  paddled  me  along, 
with  a  good  deal  of  labour,  to  Squire  Patterson's,*  but  it  was 
much  nearer  than  going  by  land.     I  was  received  by  the  squire 

*  The  residence  of  this  gentleman,  Trhere  Dr.  MacGregor  preached  his  first 
sermon  in  Pictou,  was  a  little  above  Norway  House,  and  less  than  a  luilc  above 
the  place  where  the  town  of  Pictou  now  stands,  which  was  then,  to  a  consid- 
erable e.^tent,  covered  with  the  primeval  forest. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOU,    D.D.  97 

and  his  lady  with  every  mark  of  the  most  sincere  kindness. 
They  were  of  the  very  first  settlers  of  Pictou,  and  had  all  along 
maintained  a  Christian  character;  and  now  rejoiced  in  the 
prospect  of  enjoying  public  ordinances,  of  which  they  had  been 
long  deprived.  The  afternoon  I  spent  partly  in  preparation  for 
the  morrow,  and  partly  in  getting  accounts  of  the  state  and 
people  of  Pictou.  The  first  settlers  of  Pictou  were  about  a 
dozen  families  from  Maryland,  in  the  year  1765.*  In  1773, 
came  the  ship  Hector,  loaded  with  Highlanders  from  Lochbroom, 
sent  out  by  the  Philadelphia  Company,  to  settle  a  large  grant 
of  theirs  in  Pictou.  But  many  of  them  left  Pictou  for  Truro, 
Onslow,  and  Londonderry,  townships  in  Colchester;  for  the 
families  who  had  been  in  Pictou  before  could  not  afibrd  winter 
provision  for  a  third  part  of  them  ;  but  they  almost  all  returned 
after  some  years.  Many  of  these  settlers  sufi'ered  incredible 
hardships  in  bringing  provisions  from  Colchester,  without  roads, 
horses,  or  money,  but  earning  them  by  hard  labour.  One  or 
two  years  afterwards  there  arrived  about  fifteen  families,  emi- 
grants from  Dumfriesshire  to  St.  John,  now  Prince  Edward 
Island,  who  had  been  almost  starved  to  death  there,  and  gladly 
exchanged  total  want  for  the  scanty  allowance  of  Pictou.  In 
the  fall  of  1783,  and  spring  of  1784,  came  about  twenty  fami- 
lies of  soldiers,  mostly  Highlanders,  who  had  been  disbanded 
after  the  peace  with  the  United  States  in  1783,  and  some  of 
their  officers  having  half  pay.  The  same  summer  brought  eight 
families  of  Highlanders  by  the  way  of  Halifax.  There  were  a 
few  of  the  families  Roman  Catholics,  Episcopalians,  &c. ;  but 
they  were  mostly  Scotchmen  and  Presbyterians.  They  were 
settled  round  the  shores  of  the  harbour,  and  on  the  sides  of  the 
rivers,  except  two  families  on  the  East  River,  and  one  on  the 
West,  who  chose  to  go  two  miles  for  the  sake  of  better  land. 
Such  was  the  account  I  had  from  Squire  Patterson j^  of  the  first 

*  This  should  be  1767.  The  grant  was  obtained  in  1765,  but  the  settlers 
did  not  arrive  till  two  years  later. 

f  To  our  American  readers  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  explain,  that  the  title 
"  Esquire"  given  to  justices  of  the  peaoe,  is  commonly  corrupted  into  "Squixe," 
9 


98  MEiMOIR   OP   THE 

settlement  of  Pictou.  Ilis  own  house  was  rather  the  best  in 
Pictou,  and  the  only  framed  one.  There  were  only  seven  or 
eio;ht  log  houses  in  the  whole  settlement  that  had  two  fire- 
places. 

"  The  squire  gave  orders  to  lay  slabs  and  planks  in  his  barn 
for  seats  to  the  congregation ;  and  before  eleven  o'clock  next 
morning  I  saw  the  people  gathering  to  hear  the  gospel  from  the 
lips  of  a  stranger,  and  a  stranger  who  felt  few  of  its  consola- 
tions in  his  own  soul,  and  had  but  little  hope  of  communicating 
them  to  his  hearers.  None  came  by  land,  except  certain  fami- 
lies who  lived  a  few  miles  to  the  right  and  left  of  Squire  Pat- 
terson's. Those  who  came  from  the  south  side  of  the  harbour, 
and  from  the  rivers,  had  to  come  in  boats  or  canoes ;  and  I 
doubt  not  but  all  the  craft  in  Pictou  available  at  the  time  was 
in  requisition.  It  was  truly  a  novel  sight  to  me,  to  see  so 
many  boats  and  canoes  carrying  people  to  sermon.  There  were 
only  five  or  six  boats,  but  many  canoes,  containing  from  one  to 
seven  or  eight  persons.  The  congregation,  however,  was  not 
large ;  for  numbers  could  not  get  ready  their  craft,  the  notice 
was  so  short,  I  observed  that  the  conduct  of  some  of  them, 
coming  from  the  shore  to  the  barn,  was  as  if  they  had  never 
heard  of  a  Sabbath.  I  heard  loud  talking  and  laughing,  and 
singing  and  whistling,  even  before  they  reached  the  shore. 
They  behaved,  however,  with  decency  so  long  as  I  continued  to 
speak,  and  some  of  them  were  evidently  much  aflTected.  I  en- 
deavoured to  explain  to  them  in  the  forenoon,  in  English,  'This 

and  that  where,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  the  principal  magisterial  business  in 
a  village  or  settlement  is  done  by  one,  he  usually  goes  by  the  name  of  '•  the 
Squire."  This  gentleman  has  been  styled  the  father  of  Pictou.  The  princi- 
pal part  of  the  public  business  of  the  place  for  years  after  its  first  settlement, 
even  to  the  solemnization  of  marriages,  was  transacted  by  him.  lie  was 
originally  from  Scotland,  whence  he  had  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and 
came  to  Pictou  with  the  first  settlers.  He  had  a  pleasant  manner,  much 
kindness  of  heart,  and  was  much  liked  by  the  people  generally.  His  descen- 
dants are  numerous,  and  several  of  them  have  filled  most  respectable  situa- 
tions ;  one  grandson  and  one  great-grandson  being  devoted  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  and  two  sons  as  well  as  some  of  his  grandsons  having  been  or  being 
pow  elders  of  the  church. 


REV.    JAMES    MACOllEUOU,    D.D.  99 

is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners;'  and  in  the  after- 
noon, in  Gaelic,  *  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  was  lost.'  I  had  been  afraid  of  the  want  of  proper 
precentors,  especially  for  the  Gaelic,  as  I  knew  in  Scotland  that 
readers  were  scarce  in  the  North  Highlands ;  but  I  was  happily 
disappointed,  for  William  Smith  did  very  well  in  English,  and 
Thomas  Eraser  in  Gaelic.  The  first  words  which  I  heard  after 
pronouncing  the  blessing,  were  from  a  gentleman  of  the  army 
calling  to  his  companions,  '  Come,  come,  let  us  go  to  the  grog- 
shop ;*  but  instead  of  going  with  him,  they  came  toward  me, 
to  bid  me  welcome  to  the  settlement ;  and  he  came  himself  at 
last.  I  could  not  be  displeased  with  their  politeness;  still 
there  was  co  savour  of  piety  in  their  talk.  There  were  a  num- 
ber of  pious  persons  there,  who  would  gladly  have  spoken  to 
me;  but,  as  they  told  me  afterwards,  they  had  not  the  courage 
to  show  themselves  in  such  company ;  by  which  means  I  had  a 
worse  opinion  of  the  place  than  it  deserved.  The  gentlemen 
stayed  some  time;  and  while  they  did,  we  had  little  else 
among  us  but  profanation  of  the  Sabbath.  Perhaps  I  was  too 
timid  myself;  for  all  that  I  did  to  repress  this  profanation  was 
some  faint  attempts  to  turn  the  talk  into  a  more  profitable 
channel.  It  soon  turned  back.  When  they  were  gone.  Squire 
Patterson's  family  ofi'ered  no  hindrance  to  religious  conversa- 
tion." 

It  may  be  remarked  here,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice 
more  particularly  hereafter,  that  he  had  a  remarkable  talent 
for  directing  conversation  into  religious  channels.  In  company, 
whatever  subject  was  started,  he  almost  instantly  gave  a  reli- 
gious turn  to  it,  and  that  so  naturally,  as  not  only  to  give  no 
offence  to  any,  but  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  thoughtless  to 
tlic  subject.  This  seldom  failed  to  render  his  social  intercourse 
the  means  of  spiritual  pi-ofit.  To  this  source  many  owe  their 
first  impressions  of  divine  things. 

*  This  was  a  Dr.  MacLcan,  the  samo  who  afterward  seemed  to  have  become 
penitent. 


100  MEMOIR   OP   !PHE 

At  this  point  in  the  original  MS.,  the  following  words  occur 
inserted  at  a  later  period  :  "  Mrs.  MacMillan  converted,"  as  if 
he  intended  to  mention  some  incident  connected  with  her  being 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  We  may  therefore 
give  such  information  concerning  her  as  we  have  been  able  to 
collect.  Her  mother  had  been  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  if  she  had 
any  religious  opinion  she  was  the  same.  She  was  not,  however, 
very  bigoted,  for  before  Dr.  MacGregor's  arrival  she  attended 
Robert  Marshall's  ''  readings."  "What  was  the  reason  of  the 
introduction  of  her  name  at  this  stage  of  the  narrative,  we 
know  not,  but  think  it  probable  that  an  impression  was  made 
upon  her  mind  by  his  first  sermon.  A  visit  which  he  paid  to 
her  shortly  after  is  traditionally  mentioned  as  a  chief  cause  of 
her  conversion.  She  lived  at  the  Narrows  of  the  East  river, 
and  on  his  way  up  he  called  at  her  house.  As  he  went  in,  the 
cat  having  misbehaved,  he  heard  her  giving  utterance  to  some 
reprehensible  language.  He  said  nothing  about  it  at  first,  but  in 
a  little  turned  the  conversation  to  the  subject,  and  mildly  re- 
proved her,  saying  that  he  would  not  have  spoken  in  that  way. 
Other  conversations  followed  in  which  he  completely  won  her 
afi'ection,  so  that  she  never  after  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the 
Priests.  She  early  became  a  member  of  the  church,  and  was 
remarkable  for  her  attachment  to  him,  and  for  following  his 
preaching  to  great  distances.  She  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
but  learned  many  of  the  Psalms  in  the  Metrical  version,  as  well 
as  many  chapters  of  the  Bible,  and  the  Shorter  Catechism. 
Her  descendants  are  numerous  and  respectable;  a  great-grand- 
son being  at  present  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  for 
the  County  of  Pictou.  Appended  to  one  of  his  Gaelic  MS.  we 
have  found  the  following  curious  documents  : 

"I  request  all  my  children,  and  my  children's  children  to 
join  together  and  aid  one  another  in  paying  the  expenses  of 
printing  Poems,  if  Providence  provides  an  opportunity  for  so 
doing."  M.  M'M. 

James  MacGregor,  Mary  MacMillan, 

Witness.  Her  marie. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGIIEGOR,   D.D.  101 

When  she  died,  she  left  all  her  little  property  to  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

As  we  have  given  his  impressions  of  Pictou  when  he  first 
arrived,  we  may  give  the  impressions  formed  in  Pictou  regard- 
ing him.  Probably  from  being  downcast  at  the  dreary  appear- 
ance of  the  place  and  the  prospects  before  him,  he  did  not  at 
first  impress  them  very  favourably.  They  at  first  thought  him 
dull,  if  not  stupid.  "William  Smith,  already  referred  to,  said  to 
one  of  his  neighbours,  "  I  fear  we  have  been  disappointed  in  our 
minister;  I  don't  think  that  he  will  do  much  good."  The  first 
sermon  he  preached  materially  altered  his  opinion,  and  his  first 
remark  on  coming  out  to  the  same  individual  was,  "  Ah,  he  is 
better  than  I  thought;  I  think  he  will  do  yet."  On  this  first 
Sabbath's  preaching  some  of  the  disbanded  who  attended,  stood  at 
some  distance,  and  did  not  even  take  off  their  hats  till  towards 
the  close  of  the  sermon,  when  they  drew  near,  and  uncovered 
their  heads. 

"By  Squire  Patterson's  direction  I  gave  out  sermon  next 
Sabbath  on  the  East  River,  at  the  head  of  the  tide,  and  the 
second  Sabbath  on  the  harbour,  a  few  miles  up  from  Squire 
Patterson's ;  and  the  sermon  continued  alternately  at  these 
places  for  about  two  months,  when  the  people  agreed  to  have 
two  meeting-houses — one  on  the  west  side  of  the  East  River, 
half  a  mile  below  the  head  of  the  tide,  to  accommodate  boats; 
and  the  other  on  the  east  side  of  the  West  River,  two  miles 
below  the  head  of  the  tide — alternate  preaching  to  be  at  these 
places  till  winter,  when  a  winter  regulation  should  be  made. 
These  two  places  were  ten  or  eleven  miles  apart,  and  there  was 
no  road  to  either. 

"  Towards  the  beginning  of  the  week  I  went  up  the  East 
River,  to  get  acquainted  with  the  people,  and  be  near  the 
place  of  preaching  next  Sabbath.  Except  two  families,  the 
whole  population  of  the  East  River  was  from  the  Highlands. 
But  few  of  them,  or  of  those  in  other  parts  of  Pictou,  could 
read  a  word.  Several  people  applied  to  me  for  baptism  next 
Sabbath.     I  was  in  great  difficulty  with  some  of  them,  and  not 


102  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

then  only,  but  often  afterwards ;  and  doubtless  often  erred,  not 
knowing  what  to  do  with  them,  especially  for  their  ignorance. 
To  those  whom  I  thought  quite  unfit,  I  advised  delay  for  some 
time  till  they  got  more  knowledge,  and  to  come  again  and  con- 
verse on  the  subject  J  telling  thera  that  it  was  far  safer  for 
them  to  wait  till  they  were  fit  for  it,  tlian  to  receive  it  without 
the  blessing  of  God.  One  of  these  thought  fit  to  stand  up  in 
the  congregation  next  Sabbath,  and  say,  in  a  loud  and  angry 
voice,  that  I  was  good  for  nothing,  and  did  not  deserve  the 
name  of  a  minister,  and  that  he  would  never  pay  me  a  shilling, 
as  I  refused  to  baptize  his  child.  Some  of  those  near  him  en- 
deavoured to  still  him,  but  in  vain,  till  he  got  out  his  blast. 
I  was  sorry  to  hear  him,  but  said  nothing.  Some  of  the  neigh- 
bours, in  the  course  of  the  week,  made  him  believe  that  he 
was  liable  to  a  heavy  fine,  and  frightened  him  greatly  :  so  that, 
lest  I  should  take  the  law  to  him,  he  came  and  acknowledged 
his  great  pride  and  folly,  and  begged  me  to  pardon  him.  I 
told  him  I  had  no  thought  of  taking  the  law,  and  advised  him 
to  consider  how  he  could  escape  the  anger  of  God  for  such  be- 
haviour; that  God's  grace  never  produced  such  conduct  as  his, 
and  that  he  needed  to  ask  God's  pardon  for  offending  him,  and 
troubling  his  people,  and  exposing  himself." 

In  connection  with  this  we  may  mention  an  occurrence  that 
took  place  at  this  point,  which  was  to  him  a  severe  trial.  On 
the  very  first  Sabbath  after  his  arrival,  two  of  the  gentlemen  of 
the  army  applied  to  iiim  for  baptism  for  their  children.  He 
demurred,  not  knowing  the  character  of  the  men.  They  asser- 
ted their  good  character  and  appealed  in  corroboration  of  their 
testimony  to  John  Fraser,  who  had  been  a  captain  in  the  Ilegi- 
ment,  and  who  was  now  a  magistrate.  He  corroborated  their 
testimony.  The  Doctor  yielded  and  baptized  their  children. 
During  the  week,  however,  he  discovered  that  both  the  men 
had  left  wives  in  the  old  country,  and  that  their  children  were 
the  result  of  adulterous  connection  formed  with  other  women 
here.  Though  he  was  innocent  in  what  he  had  done,  yet  his 
tender  conscience  upbraided  him  as  having  profimcd  a  holy  or- 


REV.    JAMES    MACCJREGOR,    D.D.  103 

dinance.  This  and  the  deceit  practised  upon  him  by  one  in 
the  Inchest  station,  added  to  the  dreary  circumstances  of  his 
position,  so  impressed  his  mind  that  one  of  my  informants  says, 
that  he  has  seen  him  actually  in  tears  about  the  matter.  He 
spoke  of  it  long  after  Avith  deep  sorrow.  Among  the  applicants 
for  the  same  privilege  during  the  vreck  following  was  Colin 
Douglass.  The  Doctor  replied,  "  I  do  not  know  what  to  do,  I 
liave  done  a  thing  last  Sabbath,  that  I  will  regret  all  my  days." 
Mr.  D.  referred  him  to  the  different  character  of  the  other  set- 
tlers and  afforded  such  satisfactory  evidence  of  his  character,  that 
the  Doctor  gave  him  the  privilege  sought. 

"  Ever  since  I  accepted  the  Synod's  appointment,  I  had  been 
concerned  lest  I  should  find  no  elders  in  Pictou,  and  thus  not 
have  a  regular  session.  It  was,  therefore,  a  great  happiness  to 
me,  that  I  now  heard  of  three  on  the  East  River,  who  had  been 
ordained  in  Scotland,  viz.,  Thomas  Eraser,  and  Simon  Eraser, 
who  had  officiated  in  the  parish  of  Kirkhill  with  my  late  re- 
spected and  dear  friend,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Eraser;  and  Alex- 
ander Eraser,  alias  MacAndrew,  from  Kilmorack.  It  was  an 
addition  to  this  happiness,  that,  in  obtaining  acquaintance  with 
them,  I  found  them  possessed  of  considerable  knowledge,  and 
pleasing  appearances  of  piety.  I  was  now  relieved  from  my 
fears  about  a  regular  session  ;  as  nothing  else  was  necessary  to 
the  exercise  of  their  office  here  but  the  call  of  the  congregation ; 
which  I  hoped  would  be  obtained  in  due  time,  if  God  prospered 
my  labours." 

While  we  honour  his  scrupulous  conscientiousness  in  regard 
to  the  order  of  Christ's  house,  we  do  not  think  that  there  was 
reason  for  his  difficulty.  Whatever  may  be  proper,  where  the 
church  has  been  already  established,  we  hold  that  as  the  apos- 
tles ''  ordained  Elders  in  every  city,"  where  of  course  there 
could  not  have  been  already  a  constituted  Eldership,  and  as 
Titus  was  commissioned  in  Crete,  to  ''set  in  order  the  things 
that  are  wanting  and  ordain  Elders  in  every  city, "so  one  regu- 
larly commissioned  as  an  Evangelist  had  all  the  authority  re- 
quisite for  the  ordination  of  Elders.     Of  these  elders,  Alexan- 


104  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

der  Eraser  was  an  old  man,  and  lived  but  a  short  time.  Simon 
Fraser  also  did  not  long  survive,  but  Thomas  Fraser  was  one 
of  his  closest  companions  and  firmest  supports  almost  till  his 
death. 

"Next  Sabbath  I  went  by  water  from  the  East  River  to  the 
place  mentioned  above,  to  preach.  The  boat  was  crowded  with 
people,  and  notwithstanding  all  that  I  could  do  to  restrain  them, 
their  tongues  walked  through  the  earth;  at  least  the  restraint 
continued  but  a  short  time,  when  some  one  would  forget  and 
break  through.  But  when  we  drew  near  to  the  place  of  preach- 
ing, to  which  all  the  boats  and  canoes  were  pointing,  the  scene 
described  before  was  completely  renewed.  Their  singing  and 
whistling,  and  laughing  and  bawling,  filled  my  mind  with 
amazement  and  perplexity.  I  took  occasion  to  warn  them  of 
the  sin  and  danger  of  such  conduct,  and  exhorted  them  to  con- 
sider by  whose  authority  they  were  required  to  '  remember  the 
Sabbath-day  to  keep  it  holy.'  My  warning  and  exhortation 
were  not  altogether  thrown  away;  but  there  was  not  much  re- 
formation, till  the  gentlemen  belonging  to  the  army  favoured  us 
with  their  absence,  which  they  did  when  sailing  ceased  to  be  a 
pleasure,  by  the  coolness  of  the  weather.  As  they  were  the 
main  cause  of  the  evil,  when  they  retired,  those  who  had  been 
excited  by  them  were  easily  restrained.  On  the  return  of 
summer  there  was  a  visible  alteration  for  the  better.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  I  often  thought  that  my  sermons  did  more 
harm  by  occasioning  profanation  of  the  Sabbath,  than  good  by 
communicating  instruction." 

The  place  where  the  third  Sabbath's  preaching  took  place  was 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  Middle  Iliver  at  Mr.  Alexander  Fraser's, 
near  where  Mr.  Samuel  Fraser's  house  now  stands.  This  was 
the  site  first  chosen  for  a  church,  which  it  was  supposed  would 
accommodate  all  sections  of  the  congregation.  This  idea  was 
soon  abandoned,  and  two  churches  were  erected.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  in  the  partial  intercourse  he  had  had  with  the 
people  during  these  two  weeks,  he  had  already  won  the  hearts 
of  many.     Even  children  had  become  attached  to  him.     The 


REV.    JAMES    JMACGREGOR,   D.D.  105 

following,  simple  as  it  is,  will  f^how  tins,  as  well  as  illustrate  the 
kimhiess  of  his  manner.  On  his  way  back  from  Truro*  in 
company  with  Thomas  Fraser,  the  elder,  at  the  lower  part  of 
the  Midille  River  he  met  four  boys.  lie  asked  Fraser,  "AVhat 
boy.s  arc  these?"  "Oh,  they  are  some  of  yqur  congregation, 
and  bad  boys  they  arc,"  was  the  reply.  "  Oh,  that's  because 
they  have  had  no  minister  to  teach  them,  but  they  will  do  bet- 
ter after  this."  He  then  spoke  to  them,  asking  each  his  name, 
and  enquiring  regarding  their  respective  families,  and  telling 
them  to  come  and  hear  him  preach  next  Sabbath,  and  pay  at- 
tention to  what  he  said,  and  he  was  sure  that  they  would  here- 
after be  good  boys,  lie  talked  in  this  kind  way  to  them  till 
he  completely  won  their  hearts,  and  they  were  all  eagerness  to 
hear  him  preach.  The  preaching  took  place  under  the  shade 
of  a  large  elm-tree,  and  they  listened  with  intense  interest. 
He  at  that  time  gained  a  place  in  their  affections  wdiich  he  never 
lost.  One  of  these  boys,  who  related  the  circumstance,  was 
John  Douglass,  so  well  known  through  the  church  as  Deacon 
Douglass. 

"  As  I  had  not  yet  seen  the  Middle  River,  I  took  an  opportu- 
nity of  visiting  it  this  week.  It  is  the  smallest  of  the  rivers, 
and  had  only  eleven  families  on  it — four  of  them  emigrants  from 
Dumfries,  the  rest  Highlanders.  Here  I  became  acquainted  with 
Robert  Marshall,  a  man  worthy  of  being  had  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance. He  and  his  family  suffered  every  thing  but  death  in 
Prince  Edward  Island,  by  hunger  and  nakedness;  for  though 
they  had  plenty  of  clothes  of  all  kinds  when  they  came  therOj 
lie  had  to  part  with  every  article  of  them  that  could  possibly 
be  spared  for  provision.  Soon  after  he  came  to  Pictou,  he  lost 
a  most  amiable  consort,  and  for  some  time  had  a  great  struggle 
to  bring  up  his  family  :  but  he  was  filled  with  the  jo^  uad.  peace 
of  believing,  and  abounded  in  hope,  not  only  of  everlasting  hap- 
piness, but  of  hearing  the  joyful  sound  of  the  gospel  in  Pictou. 
He  was  afterwards  an  elder,  and  a  great  comfort  to  me;  but  for 

*  His  visit  to  Truro  took  place  the  week  previous,  and  not  the  week  after 
as  recorded  by  him. 


106  MEiMOIR   OP   THE 

many  a  day  he  had  to  go  to  hear  sermon  in  an  old  red  coat 
wliich  an  old  soldier  had  given  him,  and  a  weaver's  apron,  to 
hide  the  holes  and  rags  of  his  trousers.  He  had,  I  believe,  the 
poorest  hut  in  Pictou ;  but  many  a  happy  niglit  did  I  enjoy  in 
it.  Robert  Marshall  was  eminent  for  honesty  and  plainness, 
for  charity,  liberality  of  sentiments,  and  public  spirit.  lie  was 
very  useful  to  the  young  generation,  teaching,  and  warning, 
and  directing  them  ;  and  he  would  reprove  the  greatest  man  in 
the  province  as  readily  a.s  the  least,  for  any  plain  violation  of 
the  law,  as  profane  swearing,  or  travelling  on  the  Sabbath.  In 
time  he  got  over  his  poverty;  but  he  had  his  trials  as  well  as 
his  comforts  all  his  days. 

"It  was  not  till  the  next  time  I  visited  the  Middle  Eiver 
that  I  became  acquainted  with  Kenneth  Fraser,  an  amiable 
Christian,  whom  I  never  met  without  a  smile  on  his  counte- 
nance. At  home  he  had  been  under  the  ministry  of  the  Eev. 
Thomas  MacKay,  in  Lairg,  Sutherlandshire.  He  remembered  so 
many  savoury  notes  of  Mr.  MacKay's  sermons,  that  I  could  not 
but  have  a  high  opinion  of  the  character  of  both. 

"  It  was  no  little  discouragement  to  me  that  I  scarcely  saw 
any  books  among  the  people.  Those  who  spoke  English  had, 
indeed,  a  few,  which  they  had  brought  with  them  from  their 
former  abodes,  but  scarcely  one  of  them  had  got  any  addition 
to  his  stock  since.  Almost  all  of  them  had  a  Bible;  and  it 
was  to  be  seen  with  some  of  the  Highlanders  who  could  not 
read.  There  was  no  school  in  the  place.  Squire  Patterson 
had  built  a  small  house,  and  hired  a  teacher  for  a  few  months, 
now  and  then,  for  his  own  children.  In  three  or  perhaps  four 
other  places,  three  or  four  of  the  nearest  neighbours  had  uni- 
ted and  hired  a  teacher  for  a  few  months  at  different  times ; 
and  this  was  a  great  exertion.  What  was  more  discouraging,  I 
could  not  see  a  situation  in  Pictou  where  a  school  could  be 
maintained  for  a  year,  so  thin  and  scattered  was  the  population. 
Besides,  many  of  the  Highlanders  were  perfectly  indifferent 
about  education,  for  neither  themselves  nor  any  of  their  ances- 
tors had  ever  tasted  its  pleasure  or  its  profit.     But  afterwards 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D,  107 

I  found  that  children  made  quicker  progress  in  the  small  and 
temporary  schools  with  which  the  people  were  obliged  to  con- 
tent themselves,  than  they  did  at  home  in  their  large  and  sta- 
tionary schools  :  and  I  found  it  easier  than  T  had  thought  to 
rouse  the  Highlanders  to  attend  to  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren, so  far  as  to  read  the  Bible.  I  made  it  a  rule  to  incul- 
cate this  duty  upon  parents  when  speaking  to  them  about  bap- 
tism. There  are  now  sixty  schools  in  Pictou  district ;  but  in 
almost  all  of  them  the  plan  continues  of  hiring  a  man  by  the 
year  or  half-year."* 

We  may  add  here  some  notes,  which  we  have  deciphered 
from  his  short-hand  MS.,  of  an  address  delivered  by  himself 
some  years  after,  in  which  he  describes  the  state  of  Pictou  on 
his  arrival,  and  its  condition  subsequently, 

"1.  In  Pictou  not  a  loaf  could  be  afforded  of  our  own 
wheat.  There  was  no  mill  to  grind,  now  we  have  plenty  of 
mills,  and  plenty  of  loaves.  We  had  an  imitation  flour  by  tlie 
hand-mill,  but  of  oat-mills  we  had  not  a  semblance,  but  now  we 
have  oat-mills  and  oatmeal  so  good,  it  should  not  be  to  come 
from  Scotland. 

"  2.  There  was  not  a  foot  of  road  in  the  district,  and  for  car- 
riage, neither  sleighs  nor  gigs.  The  chief  of  the  travel  was  by 
canoes,  or  along  the  shore  when  the  tide  was  out,  and  most  disa- 
greeable it  often  was,  especially  in  crossing  brooks  and  guts, 
where  we  had  often  to  go  afoot,  but  in  very  soft  ground.  There 
was  a  path  from  the  West  to  the  Middle  River,  and  from  the 
Middle  River  to  the  East,  but  no  path  from  any  of  the  rivers 
to  the  harbour.  See  the  difference  now.  We  have  roads  tliat 
princes  might  be  proud  of.     We  had  not  a  dozen  of  horses. f" 

•  This  was  written  about  the  year  1826. 

f  There  were  two  men  living  in  this  iieighboiirliood  at  the  beginning  of  this 
year,  {  1859,)  one  of  whom  isstill  living,  who  recollected  the  first  horse  they 
ever  saw.  The  one  bad  beard  of  a  man  in  the  neighbourhood  having  got 
such  an  animal,  and  not  long  after  being  down  on  the  Intervale  at  West 
River,  he  was  struck  with  terror  at  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  huge  beast 
which  he  concluded  must  be  the  aforesaid  horse.  lie  retained  his  facultiea 
sufficiently  to  consider  whether  it  would   bo   better  immediately   to  take  to 


108  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

"3.  There  was  not  a  merchant  in  the  district,  nor  any  who 
connuonly  kept  goods  for  sale,  or  made  the  third  of  his  living 
by  the  sale  of  goods.  Little  schooners  came  round  in  the  sum- 
mer with  some  necessary  articles,  to  which  the  people  repaired 
in  their  canoes,  and  got  a  few  things  for  which  they  exchanged  a 
little  produce.  Sometimes  John  Patterson  got  a  few  pounds  worth 
more  than  he  needed,  and  afterward  sold  them.  But  see  what 
stores  we  have  now.  None  among  us  can  tell  their  number, 
and  some  of  them  would  make  a  decent  appearance  in  any  town 
whatsoever.  We  had  scarcely  any  tradesmen  of  any  kind. 
We  had  weavers  and  tailors,  but  I  would  not  see  a  chaise  for  a 
wonder. 

''4.  In  this  town  there  was  not  a  single  house  for  years  after 
I  came  here.  The  town  was  some  years  without  a  single  in- 
habitant, then  there  was  a  shed  with  one  family,  then  another 
with  it,  and  so  on  till  it  became  what  we  see  it  now.  Not  a 
man  in  Pictou  would  believe  that  ever  we  should  see  a  room 
like  this  in  which  we  are  now  assembled.  Now  Pictou  deserves 
the  name  of  a  town.  It  is  fast  increasing,  and  some  of  the 
houses  deserve  the  name  of  palaces  when  compared  with  what 
we  possessed  then. 

"  5.  There  was  no  school,  now  we  have  scores  of  them.  Now 
we  have  a  Seminary  of  education,  superior  to  some  of  the 
American  colleges.  There  was  no  minister,  now  we  have 
eleven  of  them.  As  for  lawyers  there  was  such  good  neigh- 
bourhood amongst  us,  that  we  never  expected  to  need  a  lawyer 
or  a  court-house,  but  we  have  now  gotten  much  use  for  both. 
We  have  also  a  printing  press. 

''  6.   As  for  our  population,  Pictou  did  not  then   contain  five 

flight,  but  on  reflection  concluded  tliat  if  he  did  so  it  might  lead  the  animal 
to  pursue  hiiu.  He  therefore  glided  away  quietly,  till  he  got  some  bushes  be- 
tween himself  and  the  horse,  when  ho  took  to  his  heels,  and  ran  with  all  his 
might  until  he  reached  home.  The  other  tolls  with  equal  interest  that  being 
a  short  distance  from  his  father's  house,  he  was  surprised  on  his  return  at  seeing 
an  animal  unknown  to  him  tied  to  a  tree — that  while  peeping  curiously  at  it 
from  behind  a  tree,  he  was  still  more  surprised  at  seeing  a  man,  who  camo  out 
of  the  house,  mount  upon  its  back  and  ride  away. 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  109 

luindrcd  souls.  If  Mcrigomish  be  included,  I  suppose  they 
Would  amount  to  a  few  more  souls  than  five  hundred,  now  they 
amount  to  twenty-five  times  the  number  then." 

An  individual  who  arrived  in  Pictou  in  the  year  following, 
and  traversed  the  eastern  p;irt  of  Nova  Scotia,  thus  describes 
the  state  of  matters  then  :  "  In  17S7  there  were  only  four  or 
five  horses  from  Salmon  lliver  to  Antigonish.  Tbere  was  not 
one  inhabitant  on  the  Cape  Ereton  side  of  the  Gut  of  Canso, 
and  but  one  on  the  Nova  Scotia  side.  In  1788  there  was  one 
bouse  at  Ship  Harbour.  I  may  add  that  from  Pictou  to  Co- 
caigne,  there  were  but  four  or  five  families  at  Ptivcr  John,  and 
Mr.  Waugh  and  his  family  at  Tatamagouche,  some  refugees  at 
Wallace,  and  but  one  family  at  Bay  Verte.  At  Miramichi 
there  were  but  five  families." 
10 


110  MEMOIR  OF   THE 


CHAPTER    VI. 

FIRST  year's  labours.     1786-1787. 

"  Feed  thy  people  with  thy  rod,  the  flock  of  thino  heritage,  which  dwell  soli- 
tarily in  the  wood,  in  the  midst  of  Carmel ;  let  them  feed  in  Bashan  and 
Gilead  as  in  the  days  of  old.''     Mic.  vii.  14. 

We  now  enter  upon  an  unpleasant  portion  of  Dr.  MacGre- 
gor's  history,  viz.,  the  controversy  in  which  immediately  after 
his  arrival  he  was  involved  with  the  brethren  sent  out  by  the 
Burgher  Synod — a  controversy  which  excited  a  good  deal  of 
irritation,  and  for  a  time  had  an  injurious  effect  upon  the  com- 
mon cause.  "We  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  full  particulars 
on  the  subject.  The  minutes  of  the  Truro  Presbytery  have 
been  mislaid  within  a  short  period,  and  the  most  important 
pnpers,  some  of  which  were  in  existence  a  few  years  ago,  have 
perished,  while  traditionary  information  is  uncertain.  We  .shall 
give  such  a  general  account  of  it  as  we  have  been  able  to  gather. 
He  thus  refers  to  it  himself  : 

"This  week*  I  went  to  Truro,  and  preached  to  the  Presby- 
tery and  people  there,  and  had  a  long  conversation  about  union 
to  no  effect.  They,  being  better  acquainted  witli  the  state  of 
the  Province,  insisted,  that  as  the  grounds  of  difference  at 
home  had  no  existence  here,  they  should  not  mar  our  commu- 
nion ;  but  I  being  a  stronger,  thought  that  the  change  of  place 
made  no  material  difference,  and  insisted  that  they  should  con- 
demn here  what  I  condemned  at  home  and  here.  An  undue 
irritation   took  place,  which  continued,  in  some  degree,  while 

*  See  Note  ante  :  page  105. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGIIEGOR,    D.D.  Ill 

these  two  ministers  lived.  This  want  of  union  was  no  small 
trial  to  me,  as  I  was  alone,  and  there  were  tlirec  of  them." 

The  meeting  here  referred  to  took  place  on  the  2nd  of  Au- 
gust 1786,  when  the  first  Presbytery  formed  in  Nova  Scotia, 
was  constituted  under  the  name  of  the  Associate  Presbytery  of 
Truro.  The  ministers  present  were  the  Rev.  Daniel  Cock  of 
Truro,  the  Rev.  David  Smith  of  Londonderry,  the  Rev.  Hugh 
Graham  of  Cornwallis,  the  Rev.  George  Gilmore  of  Windsor, 
and  Dr.  MacGregor.  Of  these  Mr.  Gilmore  only  sat  as  a  cor- 
respondent member,  and  never  seems  to  have  taken  any  part  in 
their  proceedings.  Dr.  MacGregor  attended  the  meeting,  took 
part  in  the  devotional  exercises,  but  afterward  refused  to  unite 
with  them,  so  that  the  Presbytery  actually  consisted  of  the 
three  ministers  first  named,  all  from  the  Burgher  Synod. 

This  refusal  led  to  several  interviews  and  a  large  amount  of 
epistolary  correspondence.  It  was  remarked  that  at  their 
meetings  he  was  in  bodily  presence  mild  and  gentle,  but  that 
his  letters  were  not  only  weighty  and  powerful,  but  sometimes 
very  severe.  In  the  course  of  discussion,  which  was  conducted 
on  the  part  of  the  Presbytery  principally  by  Mr.  Smith,  a  good 
deal  of  angry  feeling  was  excited,  and  hard  blows  were  given 
on  both  sides.  But  even  if  we  could  describe  the  matters  in- 
volving personal  irritation,  which  occurred  in  the  course  of  the 
controversy,  any  farther  account  would  be  quite  uncalled  for  at 
this  date.  One  result  of  this  controversy  was  that  individuals 
through  the  congregations  of  the  Truro  Presbytery,  who  had 
been  connected  with  the  Antiburgher  Synod  in  the  mother 
country,  took  part  with  the  Doctoi-,  and  being  joined  by  others, 
who  perhaps  had  become  disafi'ected  to  their  ministers,  but  who 
acted  under  the  profession  of  zeal  for  the  truth,  formed  par- 
ties in  several  sections  opposed  to  the  Presbytery.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  regret  to  say,  that  from  Mr.  Smith's  letters  it 
appears,  that  he  favoured  such  opposition  to  the  Doctor  as  that 
of  William  MacKay  hereafter  to  be  described. 

In  consequence  of  this  state  of  things  the  Presbytery  some 
years  later,  in  accordance  with  a  representation  of  the  congre- 


112  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

gation  of  Truro,  renewed  correspondence  with  him.  He  in  con- 
sequence gave  in  a  letter,  containinjj;  a  formal  statement  of  his 
reasons  for  declining  union  with  them,  most  of  which  he  had 
given  previously.  This  document,  though  in  existence  a  few 
years  ago,  we  have  been  unable  to  obtain,  but  we  have  a  letter 
containing  remarks  upon  it,  from  which  we  learn  something  of 
his  grounds  for  separating  from  them.  They  were  eight  in 
number.  The  first  was  the  Burgess  Oath.  Another  was  the 
manner  in  which  the  Rev.  James  Munro  was  admitted  a  mem- 
ber of  Presbytery,  there  being  at  that  time  some  imputations 
thrown  out  against  his  doctrine.  A  third  was  the  use  of  Watts' 
Psalms,  by  some  of  the  adherents  of  the  Presbytery,  and  we 
believe  by  some  of  the  ministers.  The  practice  had  been  in- 
troduced by  the  settlers  who  had  emigrated  from  the  United 
States.  A  fourth  was  the  mode  of  electing  elders,  but  what 
the  matter  of  complaint  on  this  head  was,  we  have  not  ascer- 
tained. Another  was  that  the  Presbytery  had  not  adopted  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  in  terms  sufficiently  explicit. 
On  this  point  he  went  the  length  of  saying,  that  it  was  no  more 
the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Presbytery,  than  was  the  Creed 
of  Pope  Pius  the  IV.  The  reason,  however,  which  in  the  pre- 
sent day  will  be  regarded  as  of  deepest  interest,  was  the  fact 
that  the  Rev.  Daniel  Cock,  one  of  the  members  of  Presbytery, 
held  a  coloured  girl  in  slavery.  On  this  point  he  went  so  far 
as  to  say,  that  he  hoped  he  would  rather  burn  at  the  stake  than 
keep  communion  with  one  who  did  so.  The  other  two  reasons 
we  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain. 

On  looking  at  these  reasons,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first,  if 
not  some  others,  refers  to  matters  of  local  interest  in  Scotland. 
Considering  the  tenacity  with  which  the  minute  distinctions 
between  difi"erent  denominations  are  held  there,  and  the  vio- 
lence with  which  the  controversies  of  the  time  were  conducted, 
we  need  not  be  at  all  surprised,  that  a  person  just  coming  from 
the  heat  of  conflict,  should  refuse  to  unite  with  ministers  of 
diflferent  views  on  these  subjects.  The  same  thing  has  been 
happening  ever  since.     Persons  coming  here  naturally  trans- 


RKV.    JAMKS    jMACGREGOR,    D.D.  113 

port  hither  all  the  questions  and  issues,  that  were  being  tried 
in  the  country  of  their  birth,  and  believe  that  faithfulness  to 
truth  and  duty  requires  that  matters  only  of  local  interest 
should  be  made  a  ground  of  separation.  It  requires  some  years' 
residence  to  show  the  folly  of  retaining  such  distinctions,  and 
many  never  learn  to  abandon  them.  It  appears  therefore  to  us  un- 
fortunate that  Dr.  MacGregor  was  called  on  to  decide  this  ques- 
tion so  soon  after  his  arrival  here.  Those  who  had  been  longer 
in  the  country  insisted  that  these  differences  had  properly  no 
existence  here,  and  should  not  be  made  grounds  of  separation. 
A  few  years'  residence  here  led  him  to  the  same  conclusion,  and 
in  the  above  extract  he  acknowledges  that  they  judged  more 
accurately  than  he  did,  and  he  afterward  became  one  of  the 
most  ardent  friends  of  union. 

It  must  be  observed,  in  addition,  that  the  Antiburgher  body 
in  whose  views  he  had  been  educated,  held,  as  we  have  observed 
in  a  former  chapter,  the  very  closest  views  regarding  commu- 
nion. Forbearance  on  matters  of  religious  opinion  was  held 
to  be  a  sinful  connivance  at  error  or  wrong  doing.  They 
argued  for  charity  toward  those  from  whom  they  differed,  but 
to  hold  communion  with  those  who  could  not  agree  with  them 
even  on  the  minutest  points,  was  considered  as  compromising  their 
own  testimony,  as  holding  fellowship  with  error,  and  becoming 
partakers  in  its  guilt.  In  these  views  he  had  been  educated, 
and  at  this  time  he  fully  adopted  them,  so  that  when  the  Truro 
brethren,  admitting  the  difference  in  their  views,  pled  for  for- 
bearance, he  at  once  took  strong  ground  in  opposition,  and  the 
general  question  underwent  a  thorough  discussion.  We  may 
mention  that,  on  this  point  particularly,  he  had  a  long  episto- 
lary controversy  with  the  late  Robert  Archibald,  Esq.,  of  Mus- 
quodobort.  AVe  have  some  letters  of  the  latter  in  our  posses- 
sion, that,  as  the  production  of  a  layman,  not  having  a  classical 
education,  are  highly  creditable  exhibitions  both  of  his  theo- 
logical knowledge  and  Christian  spirit. 

It  is  but  just  to  observe  here,  that  while  Dr.  MacGregor  felt 

himself  precluded  conscientiously  from  fellowship  with  these 
10* 


114  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

brethren,  he  never  introduced  among  the  people  of  his  charge 
the  controversy  on  the  Burgess  Oath,  or  any  of  the  other  ques- 
tions at  issue  between  the  Secession  and  the  other  Presbyterian 
bodies  in  Scotland.  He  faithfully  acted  in  the  spirit  of  the 
injunction  of  Synod,  that  he  was  sent  not  to  make  Seceders 
but  Christians.  No  assent  was  ever  required  from  any  whom 
he  admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  church,  to  the  peculiarities 
which  distinguished  the  Secession  from  other  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  family,  and  whatever  we  may  think  of  his  views 
on  communion  at  this  time,  no  man  could  be  more  free  from  a 
sectarian  spirit,  than  he  was  througb  his  whole  career. 

During  this  separation  two  points  arose  of  some  difficulty. 
The  body  from  which  he  had  come,  held  that  even  "  occasional 
hearing"  of  preaching  from  those  against  whose  position  they 
were  lifting  a  protest  was  wrong.  But  should  he  now  say  tbat 
people  should  not  go  to  hear  Mr,  Cock  ?  He  was  not  long  in 
coming  to  the  conclusion,  that  however  these  views  might  an- 
swer where  people  had  the  opportunity  of  attending  upon  the 
ministrations  of  those  holding  the  same  religious  profession,  it 
would  be  wrong  to  attempt  to  put  them  into  practice  in  this  country 
where  they  had  no  such  opportunity.  The  other  point  of  dif- 
ficulty was,  whether  it  was  his  duty  to  preach  to  those  in  the 
congregations  of  the  Truro  brethren,  who  adhered  to  his  views  ? 
Would  not  this  be  exciting  strife?  He  laid  the  subject  before 
his  friends  in  Scotland.  Mr.  Buist  thus  gives  his  opinion  on 
these  points  : 

"As  to  supplying^ — I  am  much  at  a  loss,  1  tliink  you  can  judge  much 
better.  We  should  eng'ag-e  in  the  Lord's  service  when  the  call  is  clear, 
without  fear  of  consequences.  This  is  all  that  I  can  say.  I  may  also 
add,  "  Be  ye  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves."  As  to  hearing 
Mr.  C,  you  are  in  an  infant  state  and  must  come  to  our  order  by  degrees. 
At  the  same  time  you  may  tell  your  mind  as  to  such  things  as  persons 
may  be  able  to  bear  it." 

"We  have  only  to  add  that  he  generally  discouraged  such  ap- 
plications to  him  for  prenclnng,  and  only  yielded  to  them  in 
consequence  of  earnest  solicitation. 

One  of  his  reasons,  however,  will  be  admitted  to  have  pos- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOIl,    D.D.  115 

sesspd  preat  importance,  and  in  the  opinion  of  British  readers 
justified  him  in  adopting  high  ground.  Wc  allude  to  the  fact 
of  slaveholding  hy  a  member  of  Presbytery.  This  was  the 
subject  on  which  a  great  portion  of  their  controversy  turned, 
and  the  one  which  caused  the  greatest  amount  of  irritation. 
This,  however,  is  a  matter  of  such  interest,  that  we  reserve  a 
fuller  account  of  it  for  our  next  chapter. 

Two  other  subjects  of  discussion  are  worthy  of  notice.  The 
first  was  the  use  of  Watts'  Psalms.  Those  who  had  adopted 
them  urged  the  common  objections  against  the  Psalms  of  Da- 
vid. They  represented  them  as  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the 
New  Testament.  The  imprecations  which  they  contain  were 
particularly  held  as  indicating  the  inferior  morality  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  as  unfit  for  Christian  worship.  He  never 
adopted  the  extreme  view  of  denying  the  lawfulness  of  using 
human  compositions  in  the  praise  of  God,  but  he  justly  regarded 
the  Psalms  as  affording  the  highest  models  of  spiritual  song, 
and  such  imputations  he  regarded  as  reflections  upon  the  word 
of  God.  This  led  him  to  a  thorough  examination  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  to  the  preparation  of  a  complete  Treatise  on  the  Ira* 
precations  of  the  Psalms.  We  do  not  know  at  what  time  it 
was  composed,  but  we  find  it  referred  to  in  letters  written  in 
the  early  part  of  1790  as  in  existence  previously.  This  treatise 
was  supposed  to  have  perished  with  many  of  his  other  papers. 
We  are  happy  to  say  that  while  the  present  work  was  going 
through  the  press,  it  has  been  discovered, — completely  prepared 
for  publication,  and  we  have  now  great  pleasure  in  including  it 
among  his  remains. 

The  view  which  he  takes  of  the  subject  is  not  the  usual  one. 
He  boldly  takes  the  ground,  that  these  imprecations  are  pray- 
ers— not  however  against  David's  personal  enemies,  but  against 
the  impenitent  enemies  of  God,  and  on  the  supposition  of  their 
continuing  so.  The  persons  against  whom  David  imprecated 
might  be  in  one  point  of  view  his  personal  enemies;  looking  at 
them  in  this  light  his  disposition  was  to  seek  nothing  but  their 
good ;  but  viewing  them  as  the  irreconcilable   enemies  of  the 


116  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

Most  High,  his  regard  for  the  honour  of  God  led  him  to  pray 
for  their  destruction.  He  shows  that  the  same  is  our  duty,  be- 
cause it  is  the  will  of  God  that  his  impenitent  enemies  should 
be  destroyed,  and  we  should  concur  in  his  will  and  pray  that 
it  be  accomplished,  there  being  however  this  difference  between 
our  circumstances  and  those  of  David,  that  while  the  latter 
knew,  by  revelation,  that  certain  persons  were  of  this  char- 
acter, we  are  entirely  ignorant  who  are  and  shall  continue  to 
be  such;  and  therefore  our  prayers  must  be  in  the  most  general 
terms,  and  not  directed  against  any  particular  individuals.  "We 
learn  also  that  he  endeavoured-  to  show,  that  our  Saviour's  lan- 
guage and  the  practice  of  the  apostles  taught  the  same  lessons. 
This  is  not  only  a  very  simple  view,  but  in  our  opinion  unques- 
tionably the  correct  one;  and  we  think  that  the  Treatise  thus 
happily  still  preserved  affords  evidence  of  original  powers  of 
thought,  and  of  a  thorough  examination  of  the  Scriptures,  the 
more  remarkable  when  we  consider  that  it  must  have  been 
written  before  he  was  thirty  years  of  age,  and  when  he  had  a 
very  limited  access  to  books. 

The  other  subject  of  discussion  which  Ave  deem  worthy  of 
notice,  was  the  observance  of  fasts  enjoined  by  Government 
authority.  The  Antiburghers  in  the  old  country  generall}^  re- 
fused to  observe  these,  as  they  considered  that  their  doing  so 
would  be  an  acknowledgment  of  the  authority  of  civil  govern- 
ment in  matters  of  religion,  and  particularly  a  recognition  of 
the  unscriptural  constitution  of  church  and  state  established  by 
law  in  Britain.  The  terms  in  which  the  proclamation  for  the 
observance  of  such  days,  were  till  a  recent  period  issued,  com- 
manding persons  to  assemble  in  their  respective  churches  and 
chapels,  as  they  tendered  the  favour  of  Almighty  God,  and 
would  avert  his  displeasure,  and  enjoining  the  use  of  a  prayer 
prepared  by  the  Bishop  for  the  occasion,  and  even  with  threats 
of  those  refusing  being  punished  by  law,  were  exceedingly 
offensive,  and  fitted  to  provoke  opposition.  One  of  the  Anti- 
burgher  party  in  Culchester  writing  to  him,  speaks  thus, 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREGOll,    D.D.  117 

"  1  suppose  you  have  before  now  received  liis  Excellency's  orders  by 
proclauKition  to  keep  a  fast  upon  that  Holy  day,  dedicated  to  St.  Mark,  as 
also  a  copy  of  tlie  Right  Rev'd  Bishop's  prayer,  which  you  arc  to  read  upon 
pain  of  bciiig  punished  as  law  directs,  for  disobedience  to  the  lawful  com- 
mands of  the  best  of  Governments.  Must  they  not  be  amazing  strong  and 
prevalent  prayers,  that  are  sent  up  by  the  force  of  civil  law?" 

Those  who  adhered  to  these  views  strenuously  refused  to  ob- 
serve such  days,  and  were  in  the  liabit  of  attending  to  ordinary 
business  upon  them  in  the  most  public  manner,  to  show  their 
resistance  to  what  they  regarded  as  an  intrusion  on  the  part  of 
civil  rulers  into  the  province  of  the  church. 

After  all,  when  we  consider  the  spirit  of  the  body  in  Scotland, 
at  that  time,  perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  the  union  did  not  take 
place  then.  We  may  judge  how  such  a  step  on  his  part  would 
have  been  received  by  them,  from  the  manner  in  which  they 
acted  regarding  a  similar  step,  adopted  by  the  brethren  who 
had  gone  to  the  United  States.  In  the  year  1767  the  ministers 
who  had  gone  from  the  Antiburgher  Synod,  having  coalesced 
with  the  Burgher  brethren,  the  Synod  in  Scotland  refused  to 
sanction  the  union,  declaring  the  terms  of  it  to  be  "  inconsistent 
with  the  maintenance  of  the  testimony  among  their  hands 
against  the  course  of  the  separating  brethren/'  and  when  in 
the  following  year,  they  received  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  D. 
Tclfar,  offering  to  give  information  regarding  the  course  of  the 
Presbytery,  he  was  informed  in  a  reply  sent  to  him  by  the  Mo- 
derator, that  ''  his  communication  had  been  received,  but  that 
the  Synod  could  not  hold  any  communication  with  him,  except 
in  the  way  of  receiving  satisfaction  from  him,  with  a  view  to  the 
removal  of  the  censure,  under  which  he  is  at  present  lying,  and 
that  as  to  the  terms  of  agreement  referred  to  in  his  letter,  they 
could  not  take  them  into  consideration."* 

And  again,  when  the  Seceding  ministers  in  the  United  States 
united  with  the  brethren  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church, 
under  the  name  of  the  Associate  Reformed  Church,  the  Synod, 
just  the  year  previous  to  Dr.  MacGregor's  arrival  here,  passed 
an  act  expressing  their  disapprobation  of  the  conduct  of  those 

«  MacKerrow.    Histi.  of  Secession.     I.  388—390, 


118  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

brethren,  who  had  "coalesced  ■with  ministers  of  other  denomi- 
nations, on  terms  so  loose  and  general  as  to  open  the  door  for 
the  grossest  latitudinarianisoi."  They  disclaimed  all  connection 
•with,  and  acknowledgment  of  "  the  body  so  constituted,"  and 
they  declared  the  brethren  who  had  joined  it,  to  be  in  a  state 
of  ''  apostasy  from  their  Reformation  testimony  and  their  witnes- 
sing profession."* 

In  fact  the  counsels  of  the  Antiburgher  Synod  were  at  this 
time  swayed  by  Adam  Gib,  a  man  of  clear  mind,  strong  intellect, 
and  determined  spirit,  but  a  man  of  high  temper,  who  held 
the  most  rigid  sentiments  regarding  communion,  and  the  high- 
est views  of  Ecclesiastical  authority.  Had  Dr.  MacGregor  at 
this  time  united  with  the  Burgher  brethren,  he  would  undoubt- 
edly have  been  immediately  separated  from  the  fellowship  of 
his  brethren,  and  all  ministerial  assistance  would  have  been  re- 
fused him.  But  by  taking  up  a  separate  position,  he  was  led 
to  send  home  those  importunate  supplications,  which  brought 
to  this  country  those  excellent  men,  who  were  his  coadjutors  in 
establishing  Presbyterianism  in  the  Province,  and  thus  the 
separation,  like  that  of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  tended  to  the  fur- 
thera«ce  of  the  gospel. 

Having  thus  given  as  full  a  view  of  this  controversy  as  the 
facts  in  our  possession  enable  us,  and  as  fairly  as  we  are  able,  we 
return  to  his  narrative  : 

"  There  were  so  few  houses  in  Pictou  with  any  accommoda- 
tions, that  I  could  get  no  convenient  place  for  lodging.  On  the 
East  River  there  was  one  house,  within  two-and-a-half  miles  of 
the  place  fixed  upon  for  a  meeting-house,  which  had  two  fire- 
places;  and  here  I  had  to  fix,  for  there  was  none  equal  to  it 
within  four  miles  of  the  other  place  of  public  worship.  Still 
it  was  very  inconvenient,  for  the  heads  of  the  family  had  to  sit 
and  sleep  in  the  same  room;  but  I  could  not  better  myself. 
This  circumstance  fixed  my  lot  on  the  East  River  to  this  day. 
After  two  years  I  got  a  house  where  I  had  a  room  to  myself. 

"  During  the  whole  of  the  harvest  and  the  fall  I  saw  no  pre- 
*  MacKerrow.     Hist,  of  Secession.     I.  434. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  119 

paration  for  building  any  of  the  meeting-houses.  This  dis- 
couragement, with  the  rest,  affected  nie  so,  that,  if  I  could  have 
left  Pictou,  I  would  have  done  it,  even  late  in  the  fall  I  saw 
little  fruit  of  my  labours;  still  Providence  was,  in  many  re- 
spects, favourable.  Though  public  worship  had  been  conducted 
in  the  open  air,  till  we  were  compelled  by  the  cold  to  go  into  a 
fire  house,  yet  we  were  never  disturbed  by  a  shower. 

"  Toward  the  end  of  September  the  session  agreed  that  there 
was  need  of  an  increase  of  elders — two  for  each  river,  and  one 
for  the  harbour.  This  was  intimated  to  the  congregation^  who 
soon  after  chose  the  following  persons': — Donald  MacKay,  Peter 
Grant,  Robert  Marshall,  Kenneth  Fraser,  John  MacLean,  Hugh 
Fraser,  and  John  Patterson.  I  name  them  because  they  were 
my  companions,  my  support  and  comfort,  when  Pictou  was 
destitute  and  poor,  and  I  was  without  the  assistance  of  a  co- 
presbyter.  They  have  all  given  in  their  account,  as  al.'^o  the 
three  ordained  in  Scotland,  and  I  trust  they  have  done  it  with 
joy,  and  not  with  grief.  They  were  not  ordained  till  the  nest 
May.* 

"  The  upper  settlement  of  the  East  River  being  farther  off 
from  the  place  of  public  worship  than  any  other  part  of  the 
congregation,  it  was  agreed  to  let  them  have  sermon  in  their 
own  settlement  three  Sabbaths  annually,  and  I  agreed  to  give 
them  three  week  days  besides.  This  arrangement  continued 
till  a  second  minister  came  to  Pictou,  when  they  got  more.  I 
saw  them  the  first  time  early  in  October,  and  on  Sabbath  they 
came  all  to  hear  with  great  joy  and  wonder;  for  they  had  not 
indulged  the  hope  of  ever  seeing  a  minister  in  their  settlement. 
They  had  very  poor  accommodations.  I  had  to  sleep  on  a  little 
straw  on  the  floor." 

*  These  elders  from  all  that  we  have  heard  of  tliesn  were  men  well-fitted  for 
their  position.  Their  memory  ia  still  fragrant,  and  with  one  special  excep- 
tion their  descendants  are  generally  distinguished,  not  only  as  sober  and  in- 
dustrious members  of  the  community,  but  pious  and  useful  members  of  the 
church.  This  exception  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  he  afterward  kept 
a  public  house.  Though  selling  liquor  was  not  then  reg;irJed  as  improper, 
yet  the  effects  upon  his  family  were  most  disastrous. 


120  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

As  already  mentioned,  all  the  settlers  on  the  upper  settle- 
ment were  Highlanders,  most  of  whom  liad  served  in  the 
American  war.  Part  of  them  were  from  tlie  parish  of  Ur- 
quliart.  Having  settled  but  a  short  time  previous  to  the  Doctor's 
arrival,  they  were  of  course  in  poorer  circumstances  than  the 
other  settlers.  At  some  distance  up,  the  river  forms  two 
branches,  commonly  called  the  East  and  West  Branches.  ]Most 
of  the  settlers  were  Protestants  and  Presbyterians,  but  sonio  of 
them  were  Roman  Catholics.  Among  these  were  the  Chis- 
holms  on  the  East  Branch,  who  were  from  Strathglass.  The 
father  attended  the  Doctor's  preaching,  but  never  became  a 
decided  Protestant.  One  son,  Archibald,  joined  the  church 
and  lived  and  died  a  consistent  Christian  life,  and  so  did  a 
sister,  Mrs.  John  MacKenzie  of  West  Kiver,  mother-in-law  to 
William  Matheson,  Esq.  They  have  left  a  large  number  of 
descendants,  many  of  whom  are  most  useful  and  respectable 
members  of  the  church.  There  were  also  some  of  that  per- 
suasion about  the  West  Branch,  and  one  or  two  became  Pro- 
testants, when  the  priest,  seeing  that  they  were  likely  to  be  lost 
to  the  Romish  Church  altogether,  if  they  remained  there,  in- 
duced them  all  to  leave.  The  rest  of  the  settlers  were  gene- 
rally a  pious  people.  Even  those  who  had  served  in  the  army 
were  very  different  from  the  common  run  of  disbanded  soldiers. 
They  were  decent  emigrants,  who  had  been  induced  to  serve 
while  the  war  lasted,  and  from  the  traditionary  information  I 
have  received,  it  appears  that  even  while  in  the  army  they  were 
not  neglectful  of  their  religious  duties.  At  that  time  as  now 
the  army  had  its  praying  centurions  and  "  devout  soldiers,"  and 
some  of  them  used  to  speak  in  grateful  recollection  of  the 
efforts  of  a  Lieut.  MacDonald  for  their  spiritual  welfare.  Peter 
Grant,  afterward  an  elder,  kept  "  a  reading,"  I  believe  before 
Dr.  MacGregor  came,  at  all  events  afterwai'd,  when  there  was 
no  preaching  in  the  settlement. 

The  only  mode  of  travelling  to  this  part  of  his  congregation, 
was  walking  along  the  edge  of  the  river,  and,  where  they  came 
to  a  brook,  ascending  it   till   they  reached  a  part  where  they 


REV.  JAMES  macghegor,  d.d.  121 

were  able  to  cross  it.  In  winter,  of  course,  the  travelling  was  on 
snow  shoes.  Sometimes  the  young  men  would  at  that  season 
of  the  year  go  down  at  the  end  of  the  week  to  beat  a  track 
for  him.  Toward  spring  when  the  snow  began  to  get  soft  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  by  beating  it  down,  it  would  be  frozen 
sufficiently  hard  the  next  morning  to  bear  him.  On  one  occa- 
sion having  arrived  at  the  house  of  James  MacDonald,  the 
elder,  without  their  having  done  so,  the  latter  began  exclaiming 
against  them  for  their  neglect.  "Oh,"  said  the  Doctor,  "you 
look  like  an  angry  man."  Seeing  him  so  contented,  the  good 
elder  had  to  forego  his  ire. 

His  first  sermon  at  the  upper  settlement  was  preached  at 
James  MacDonald's  intervale  under  the  shade  of  a  large  oak 
tree,  the  largest  in  that  whole  region.  This  was  his  ordinary 
place  of  preaching  in  summer  for  some  time,  though  occasion- 
ally he  preached  at  Mr.  Charles  Macintosh's,  about  six  miles 
farther  up,  under  the  shade  of  some  trees,  particularly  a  large 
elm,  which  had  been  left  standing  on  his  farm  ;  and  at  the  West 
Branch,  either  at  Mr.  Donald  Chisholm's,  or  James  Cameron's. 
In  winter  the  preaching  was  in  private  houses.  On  one  occa- 
sion when  near  the  conclusion  of  his  first  sermon,  the  whole 
floor  gave  way,  and  precipitated  most  of  the  audience  into  the 
cellar.  He  himself  was  standing  by  the  chimney,  and  escaped. 
The  whole  floor  except  the  spot  where  he  was  standing  fell  in 
one  body,  so  that  no  person  was  hurt.  The  only  articles  of  any 
value  in  the  cellar  were  under  the  part  where  he  stood,  so  that 
no  loss  was  sustained.  It  was  a  fine  day  toward  the  close  of 
winter,  and  he  preached  the  second  sermon  in  the  barn. 

After  a  few  years  a  church  was  built.  It  was  of  logs  and 
situated  at  Grant's  Lake,  to  accommodate  the  residents  on 
both  branches  of  the  river.  This  continued  to  be  the  usual 
place  of  meeting  till  about  the  year  1815,  when  two  new 
churches  were  built,  the  one  on  the  East  Branch  and  the  other 
on  the  West. 

"On  November  the  15th  winter  set  in.  We  had  a  few 
showers  of  snow  before,  which  melted  away ;  but  the  snow  of 


122  MKMOIR    OP   THE 

that  day  continued  until  the  middle  of  April,  and  some  of  it 
till  3Iay.  I  was  tired  of  winter  before  New  Year's  Day,  but 
before  March  was  over,  I  forgot  that  it  should  go  away  at  all. 
The  snow  became  gradually  deeper,  till  it  was  between  two  and 
three  feet  deep;  when  women  could  travel  only  where  a  path 
was  made,  and  men  betouk  themselves  to  snow-shoes.'*'  We 
had  now  to  alter  the  plan  of  preaching  entirely.  People  could 
not  sit  in  a  house  without  fire,  and  they  could  not  travel  fiir. 
It  was  therefore  agreed  that  I  should  preacli  two  Sabbaths  at 
the  East  River,  two  upon  the  Harbour,  two  upon  the  West 
River,  and  two  upon  the  Middle  River,  and  then  renew  the 
circle,  till  the  warm  weather  should  return.  The  upper  settle- 
ment of  the  East  River,  being  unprovided  with  snow  shoes, 
were  excluded  through  the  whole  winter  from  all  communica- 
tion with  the  rest  of  the  people,  as  effectually  as  if  they  had 
belonged  to  another  world,  excepting  one  visit  by  two  young 
men,  who  made  a  sort  of  snow-shoes  of  small  tough  withes, 
plaited  and  interwoven  in  snow-shoe  frames.  This  circulating 
plan  of  preaching  was  no  little  inconvenience  to  me.  For  six 
weeks  in  eight  I  was  from  home,  almost  totally  deprived  of  my 
books  and  of  all  accommodation  for  study,  often  changing  my 
lodging,  and  exposed  to  frequent  and  excessive  cold.  But  it 
had  this  advantage,  that  it  gave  me  an  easier  opportunity  of 
examining  the  congregation  than  I  could  otherwise  have  had ; 
for  I  got  these  duties  performed  in  each  portion  between  the 
two  Sabbaths  on  which  I  was  there. 

"  I  resolved  not  to  confine  my  visitations  to  Presbyterians, 
but  to  include  all,  of  every  denomination,  who  would  make  me 
welcome  ;  for  I  viewed  them  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  The 
purport  of  my  visitations  was,  to  awaken  them  to  a  sight  of 
their  sinful  and  dangerous  state,  to  direct  them  to  Christ,  to 
exhort  them  to  be  diligent  to  grow  in  religious  knowledge,  and 

*  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  winter  after  his  arrival  was  long  known 
as  the  most  severe  in  the  recollection  of  the  oldest  settlers.  So  early  did  it 
set  in,  that  in  the  month  of  Novembpr  the  harbour  was  frozen  sufficiently  for 
persons  to  cross  on  the  ice. 


REV.    JAMES    iMACtiREGOU,    D.D.  123 

to  set  up  and  maintain  the  worship  of  God  in  the  family  and 
ckiset  morning  and  evening.  I  did  not  pass  a  house,  and 
though  I  was  not  cordially  welcome  by  all,  my  visits  were  pro- 
ductive of  more  good  than  I  expected ;  and  I  trust  they  were 
the  means  of  bringing  to  Clirist  several  who  were  not  Presby- 
terians. In  the  course  of  this  visitation,  I  met  with  a  number 
who  had  maintained  family  and  closet  prayers  almost  regularly. 
Every  one,  however,  except  llobert  Marshall  alone,  acknow- 
ledged occasional  neglects.  Numbers  readily  expressed  their 
purpose  henceforth  punctually  to  comply  with  the  directions 
they  received,  and  expressed  great  thankfulness  for  them : 
numbers  more  did  the  same,  but  with  fear,  and  only  in  con- 
sequence of  being  strongly  urged.  Others  positively  refused : 
— some,  because  they  did  not  esteem  it  a  duty }  others,  be- 
cause, though  it  was  a  duty,  they  were  not  capable  of  doing 
it.  This  course  of  visitation  was  of  great  advantage  to  many 
of  the  settlers.  It  made  them  resolve  on  serving  the  Lord; 
and  they  never  drew  back.  I  hope  many  of  them  are  now 
glorified.  It  was  also  of  no  little  advantage  to  myself.  I  be- 
gan to  see  that  my  labours  were  not  altogether  in  vain.  I 
found  more  friends  to  the  gospel  than  I  expected.  1  found 
some  under  much  concern  about  their  eternal  happiness,  lament- 
ing their  sinful  and  miserable  condition,  particularly  their  igno- 
rance and  negligence,  and  misimprovement  of  time;  anxious 
to  find  the  narrow  way,  and  very  thankful  for  direction.  They 
informed  me  of  notes  of  the  sermons  which  affected  them, 
and  of  the  various  workings  which  they  occasioned  in  their 
minds.  I  found,  also,  that  they  were  not  inattentive  to  the 
Scriptures.  Many  passages  were  recited  to  me,  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  whether  they  had  understood  them  correctly.  These 
things  cheered  my  heart;  and  even  with  respect  to  such  as 
were  not  at  all  afi"ected  by  my  instructions,  I  began  to  be  less 
discouraged,  because  time  might  bring  a  blessing  to  them  also. 
"  But  there  were  a  set  of  profligates,  at  the  head  of  whom 
were  the  gentlemen  of  the  army  above  mentioned,  whose  enmity 
to  the  gospel  grew  fast;  and  in  a  short  time  became  outrageous. 


124  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

Before  the  end  of  winter  some  of  them  threatened  to  shoot  me, 
and  burn  the  house  in  which  I  lodged.  I  may  here  say  all 
that  I  have  to  say  of  them,  and  be  quit  of  them.  Two  things 
exasperated  them  against  me — frst,  Some  of  them  who  had 
their  wives  in  Scotland  lived  with  other  women  here;  and  some 
of  them  lived  with  other  men's  wives,  whose  husbands  were  in 
Scotland.  I  spoke  to  them  concerning  the  irregularity  of  their 
conduct,  and  prevailed  upon  one  of  them  to  reform ;  but  the 
rest  were  hardened.  It  was  not,  however,  anything  that  I  said 
that  exasperated  them.  Before  I  came,  scarcely  any  person 
but  Robert  jMarshall  condemned  them;  but  now,  when  people 
began  to  receive  the  gospel,  many  reprobated  their  conduct  in 
the  plainest  language,  as  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  law  of 
God  and  Christianity.  I  had  to  bear  the  blame  of  all  these  re- 
proofs, and  the  uneasiness  which  they  caused.  Secondly/,  The 
half-pay  officers  intended  and  expected  to  exercise  nearly  the 
same  authority  over  the  men  after  they  were  disbanded  which 
they  had  done  before,  and  for  a  time  succeeded  wonderfully. 
But  time,  intercourse  with  the  other  settlers,  and  doubtless  also 
an  increase  of  Christian  knowledge,  induced  the  men  to  with- 
draw their  subjection.  Of  this  also  I  had  to  bear  the  blame. 
Indeed,  they  counted  me  the  cause  of  almost  all  evil,  and 
thought  that  the  place  could  not  be  right  till  I  was  banished 
out  of  it.  Next  winter  they  held  a  meeting  with  a  view  to  send 
me  bound  to  the  governor,  expecting  their  influence  with  him 
to  be  such,  that  their  mere  accusations  would  procure  my  ban- 
ishment.* But  one  of  the  gentlemen  present,  after  a  good  deal 
of  consultation,  gave  them  Gamaliel's  advice  to  the  council  of 
the  Jews,  with  which  they  thought  proper  to  comply,  and  so 
dispersed.  They  continued,  however,  for  seven  years  pests  and 
plagues  to  the  congregation,  particularly  circulating  the  most 
mischievous  lies  they  could  devise.  But  they  ran  fast  to  pov- 
erty and  destruction,  so  that  scarcely  one  of  them  remained  at 
the  end  of  that  period.     Two  of  them  were  drowned  ;  one  died 

*  So  strong  was  their  .animosity  to  him  that,  as  one  of  my  informantB  said, 
"They  would  have  killed  him  if  they  dared." 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOB,   D.D.  125 

in  the  poor-house  in  Halifax,  of  a  disease  not  the  most  honoura- 
ble ;  another  was  found  dead  in  a  stable,  hung  by  the  belly  to 
one  of  the  horse  tackle  hooks.  It  was  supposed  that  he  had 
gone  up  to  sleep  on  the  hay  drunk,  and  that,  having  fallen  down, 
the  hook  caught  him. 

"  Another  cut  his  throat ;  but  I  trust  he  was  a  brand  plucked 
out  of  the  burning.  Divine  Providence  would  have  it,  that 
his  cue.  which  was  large,  should  lie  alongside  of  his  throat, 
and  prevent  the  desperate  cut  from  being  fatal.  In  a  moment 
he  became  penitent.  He  was  himself  a  physician,  and  his  se- 
duced companion  being  at  hand,  he  speedily  gave  her  his  best 
directions  for  a  cure,  and  sent  for  me  to  come  and  see  him. 
0  the  power  of  conscience  !  I  was  before  the  most  hated  of 
mep,  but  now  the  most  desii-ed.  I  went  immediately,  and  soon 
found  that  he  had  great  need  of  instruction.  Though  he  had 
great  anxiety  and  perplexity  of  mind  about  his  future  state,  he 
was  wofully  ignorant  of  the  odiousness  of  sin  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  of  the  enmity  of  the  carnal  mind  against  him;  and 
equally  so  of  the  spiritual  beauty  and  purity  of  Christ's  salva- 
tion, and  of  the  gracious  manner  in  which  it  is  conferred.  I 
had  to  instruct  him  like  a  child.  I  set  before  him  as  well  as  I 
could  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  love,  grace,  and  power  of  Christ 
as  a  Saviour,  and  prayed  several  times  for  the  Saviour's  com- 
passion to  his  soul,  and  for  God's  blessing  upon  the  means  of 
grace  he  granted  him  to  enjoy.  I  left  him  with  a  mixture  of 
hope  and  fear;  for  though  he  was  very  thankful  for  instruction, 
and  for  his  being  spared  to  bear  it,  yet  he  seemed  slower  in  un- 
derstanding it  than  I  expected  one  in  his  situation  would  be. 
As  he  recovered,  I  had  frequent  opportunities  of  seeing  him, 
but  still  thought  him  slow  in  his  pi'ogress.  As  his  former  extrava- 
gance had  brought  him  to  great  poverty,  one  of  the  elders, 
in  pure  compassion,  took  him  to  his  own  house,  where  he  lived 
about  a  year,  and  where  he  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  Christian 
instruction  in  a  special  manner.  The  elder's  opinion  of  him 
coincided  with  mine.     He  grew  but  slowly.     As  thei'e   were 

too  few  people,  and  too  few  diseases  in  Pictou  then  to  provide 
11* 


126  MEMOIR    OP   THE 

a  living  for  a  physician,  he  loft  it  and  went  home  to  his  friends, 
•who  were  able  to  provide  for  him.  I  had  afterwards  a  letter 
(and  but  one)  from  him,  containing  an  affectionate  remem- 
brance of  the  kindness  of  the  Pictou  people  toward  him,  espe- 
ciall)'  the  elder's  and  mine,  and  expressing  his  earnest  desire 
and  hope  that  thenceforward  he  might  be  enabled  to  walk  hum- 
bly with  his  God.  I  had  also  a  letter  from  a  brother  of  his,  a 
pious  minister,  I  believe,  in  New  England,  expressing  great 
gratitude  for  my  kindness  and  attention  to  his  brother  in  his 
extremity,  and  confident  hopes  of  his  growth  and  perseverance 
in  grace.  On  the  whole,  I  trust  he  was  a  brand  plucked  out 
of  the  burning,  and  if  he  was,  he  will  be  for  ever  a  remarkable 
trophy  of  divine  grace.  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  no  evidence 
of  the  penitence  of  the  unhappy  victim  of  his  seduction,  who, 
in  her  turn,  by  her  extravagance,  reduced  him  to  that  poverty 
and  want  which  drove  him  to  the  desperate  act  related  above. 
She  too  left  Pictou,  but  left  it  for  the  purlieu  of  one  of  the 
haunts  of  vice  in  Halifax,  which  'are  the  way  to  hell,  going 
down  to  the  chambers  of  death.' 

"  A  number  of  the  profligates  who  had  belonged  to  the  army 
remained  with  us  till  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  1793.  Then 
the  governor  raised  a  regiment  to  help  on  the  war.  A  recruit- 
ing party  came  to  Pictou,  and  our  drunken  vagabonds,  almost 
to  a  man,  readily  embraced  the  opportunity  to  re-enlist,  that 
they  might  again  enjoy  the  miserable  life  they  had  before  led 
in  the  army.  In  a  few  months  we  got  clear  of  them,  and  I  be- 
lieve not  one  individual  of  those  who  were  sober  and  industri- 
ous enlisted.  I  looked  upon  Pictou  as  purged,  and  hoped  I 
would  never  see  it  polluted  again.  Little  did  I  expect  to  see 
some  of  those  I  baptized  as  polluted  as  these.  By-and-by  we 
met  with  sources  of  corruption  which  we  did  not  foresee. 

"  The  want  of  mills  proved  a  great  impediment  in  my  course 
of  visitation,  for  it  obliged  every  family  to  have  a  hand-mill  for 
its  own  use.  As  soon  as  I  sat  down  the  mill  was  set  a-going; 
and  though  it  was  but  a  hand-mill,  it  made  such  a  noise  as  to 
mar  conversation,  and  most  commonly  kept  either  the  male  or 


BEV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  127 

the  female  head  of  the  family  from  all  share  in  it.  But  for 
this  circumstance  I  could  often  have  visited  two  families 
for  one  that  I  did  visit.  Grinding  on  the  hand-mill  was  so 
laborious  that  it  was  let  alone  till  necessity  impelled  to  it. 
This  was  the  occasion  of  saving  much  wheat,  for  many  a  meal 
was  made  without  bread,  on  account  of  the  trouble  of  grinding^ 
Ten  years  afterwards  proper  mills  were  erected,  and  the  flour 
which  used  to  be  spared  and  sent  to  market,  was  sent  to  the 
mill  and  eaten.  The  women  in  general  learned  to  make  good 
bread,  and  people  lived  better;  but  they  wanted  wheat  for  the 
market.* 

''  The  ice  was  a  great  convenience  during  winter  in  all  my 
travels,  especially  in  my  visitations,  as  it  removed  all  obstruc- 
tions from  water,  and  enabled  me  to  go  straight  from  one  house 
to  another,  whatever  brook,  creek,  or  other  water  might  inter- 
vene. Strangers  cannot  easily  conceive  what  an  advantage 
this  is  in  a  new  settlement,  placed  wholly  along  the  sides  of  the 
waters,  without  roads  or  bridges.  It  is  extremely  troublesome 
to  travel  along  shore,  round  every  point  and  bay,  and  up  the 
side   of  every   brook   to   the  head  of  the  tide  and  back  again, 

*  We  have  never  seen  any  of  these  hand-Qiills,  or  querns,  as  they  were  called; 
but  the  following  is  a  description  of  them  :  They  consisted  of  two  stones, 
about  two  feet  in  diameter.  The  lower  was  fixed,  and  the  upper  surface 
"picked"  as  millers  say,  and  apiece  of  iron  was  inserted  in  the  centre.  The  up- 
per stone  was  heavier,  being  about  ten  inches  or  a  foot  thick,  and  had  a  hole 
in  the  centre,  through  which  the  iron  in  the  under  stone  passed  up.  In  this 
hole  was  also  put  the  grain  to  be  ground.  The  lower  end  of  an  upright  pole 
was  fastened  to  the  upper  surface  of  this  stone  near  its  outer  edge,  while  the 
upper  end  was  fixed  in  a  cross  piece  of  wood,  between  the  upper  beams  of  the 
house.  Seizing  this  by  one  hand,  the  operator,  whirled  round  the  upper  stone 
with  a  rapidity  according  to  his  strength,  while  with  the  other  hand  he  or  she 
put  the  grain  to  be  ground  into  the  hole  in  the  centre.  John  Patterson  made 
an  improvement  upon  them  by  putting  a  rim  round  them,  and  a  spout  at  one 
side,  so  that  the  flour,  instead  of  coming  off  the  stone  all  round,  might  come 
out  at  one  place.  This  was  afterward  sifted,  and  made  a  wholesome  bread- 
The  first  application  of  any  other  power  to  grinding  corn  in  the  county  of  Pic- 
tou,  was  the  erection  of  a  wind-mill,  by  John  Patterson,  at  what  is  now  called 
Norway  Point. 


128  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

while  even  the  shore  is  often  encumbered  with  rocks,  bogs,  and 
fallen  trees." 

While  the  ice  was  no  doubt  a  convenience,  travelling  upon  it 
was  sometimes  attended  with  considerable  danger.  Among  his 
memoranda  we  find  the  words  "  fright  on  the  ice,"  and  we  have 
heard  of  several  occasions  of  his  being  in  peril  of  his  life  in 
this  way.  The  danger  may  arise  in  various  ways.  One  source 
is  from  snow-storms,  suddenly  rising  when  persons  are  at  some 
distance  from  the  shore.  The  track  is  soon  covered  up,  the 
shore  cannot  be  seen — the  sun  is  concealed — and  the  person 
gets  blinded  with  drift,  and  losing  his  course,  wanders  hither 
and  thither,  and  sometimes  perishes.  At  present,  it  is  custo- 
mary to  place  a  row  of  bushes  a  few  rods  apart,  along  the  prin- 
cipal lines  of  travelling,  to  guide  the  traveller,  but  in  those  times 
this  expedient  was  unknown.  We  have  heard  of  his  being  in 
danger,  in  this  way,  especially  on  one  occasion  while  on  Merigo- 
mish  Harbour  in  company  with  Thomas  Fraser,  the  Elder.  It 
came  on  a  snow-storm,  in  which  they  lost  their  way,  and  when 
they  reached  the  shore  they  were  nearly  exhausted. 

Another  source  of  danger  is  from  the  ice  being  weak,  as  it 
will  be  in  spring  or  fall,  or  as  it  sometimes  is,  even  in  winter, 
in  particular  spots  from  local  causes,  such  as  mussel-beds,  &c. 
We  have  heard  also  of  his  being  in  danger  in  this  way.  On  one 
occasion,  crossing,  we  believe,  Pictou  Harbour  in  the  fall  of  the 
year,  the  ice  at  mid-channel  began  to  bend  with  the  weight  of 
himself  and  his  companions.  They  separated  and  got  down  on 
their  hands  and  knees  so  as  to  cover  as  large  a  surface  as  pos- 
sible, and  moved  forward  as  rapidly  as  they  could.  The  new 
ice  formed  in  the  fall  has  considerable  elasticity,  unlike  the  ice 
in  spring,  which  has  begun  to  decay  by  the  action  of  the  sun. 
And  this  circumstance  saved  them,  for  before  they  got  across, 
the  ice  had  so  far  yielded  that  considerable  water  was  upon  it. 
On  one  occasion,  perhaps  the  same,  having  arrived  in  Pictou  to 
preach,  the  people  beheld  his  arrival  with  actual  amazement 
They  could  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that  he  had  crossed  on 
the  ice  in  the  state   it  was.     On  beinp;  assured  that  he  had 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREQOR,   D.D.  129 

actually  done  so,  the  reply  wns,  "  "Well  it  must  have  been  your 
faitk  that  brought  you  across. '^ 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  he  Tiianifcstcd  anything  like 
fool-hardiness  in  rushing  into  danger  unnecessarily.  But  when 
he  had  an  appointment  to  preach  or  perform  other  ministerial 
duty,  he  considered  it  as  forming  a  call  in  Providence,  and  he 
would  undergo  some  risk  in  order  to  fulfil  such  an  engagement, 
trusting  in  the  protection  of  his  heavenly  Father.  He  has 
passed  through  dangers  in  order  to  preach,  that  he  would  not 
venture  into  to  return  home.  On  one  occasion  having  crossed 
l-*ictou  Harbour  on  the  ice,  his  companions  asked  him  after 
preaching,  if  he  wished  to  return  home.  His  reply  was,  "  No, 
the  ice  is  not  fit."  "It  is  as  fit  as  when  we  came  across."  "Yes, 
but  we  had  then  a  call  to  come;  but  it  is  not  necessary  for  us 
to  go  back  just  now,  we  can  stay  where  we  are  in  the  meantime." 
He  reasoned  in  the  same  way  in  other  circumstances.  We 
have  heard  of  his  being  in  danger  in  crossing  Pictou  Harbour 
in  a  canoe.  It  was  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  and  so  rough  that 
those  who  were  with  him  were  unwilling  to  attempt  crossing, 
but  he  encouraged  them,  saying  that  it  was  in  a  good  cause, 
and  their  Master  would  take  care  of  them.  They  got  over 
safely  after  being  exposed  to  considerable  danger.  After  preach- 
ing, on  their  asking  him  if  he  wished  to  return,  he  re- 
plied, "  No,  we  have  no  call  to  go."  The  people  came  to  regard 
him  as  under  the  care  of  a  special  Providence,  and  to  consider 
themselves  as  safe  where  he  felt  called  to  go.  On  one  occasion 
many  years  after,  he  came  on  a  stormy  day  to  Donald  MacDou- 
gall,  who  established  the  first  ferry  across  the  Harbour  and 
asked  him  to  ferry  him  across.  MacDougall  replied  that  it  was 
very  stormy,  but  he  would  try.  He  immediately  got  ready 
his  boat  and  ferried  him  across  safely.  But  he  said  afterward, 
that  there  was  not  another  person  living,  with  whom  he  would 
have  ventured  to  attempt  crossing  on  that  day.  The  Doctor,  how- 
ever, did  not  understand  from  MacDougall's  reply  that  he  con- 
sidered it  so  dangerous,  or  he  would  not  have  asked  him. 

"  By  the  time  I  got  through  the  visitation,  I  was  much  en- 


130  MEMOIR   OF  THE  , 

couraged,  compared  with  my  former  deep  despondence.  I  found 
most  of  tlic  people  affectionate  and  friendly,  some  of  them  ex- 
ceedingly so,  being  persuaded  that  they  obtained  saving  benefit 
by  the  very  first  sermon  I  preached.  I  found  many  of  them 
willing  to  receive  instruction  and  advice,  and  greatly  regretting 
their  ignorance  and  their  past  negligence.  Besides,  I  met  with 
more  piety  and  knowledge  tlian  I  expected,  so  that  I  began  to 
hope  that  my  labour  would  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

"  When  April  came  the  sun  began  to  show  his  power  in  dis- 
solving the  snow  and  the  ice,  whose  dominion  had  continued  so 
long  that  I  had  almost  forgotten  that  summer  would  come.  Be- 
fore April  was  ended,  the  harbour  was  completely  clear  of  the 
ice  ;  and  on  the  Cth  of  3Iay,  the  day  on  which  the  elders  were 
ordained,  I  saw  the  last  patch  of  snow  for  that  season.  The 
boats  and  canoes  were  then  launched  and  prepared  for  summer 
employment;  for  they  were  our  horses,  which  carried  most  of 
us  to  sermon,  and  every  other  business.  Now  came  on  the 
spring  work,  and  every  hand  that  could  help  the  farmer  had 
plenty  of  emplo3'ment.  From  the  beginning  of  May  till  the 
middle  of  June  was  the  time  for  ploughing,  and  sowing  the  va- 
rious kinds  of  grain,  and  planting  the  potatoes.  But  there 
were  few  ploughs  in  Pictou.  All  the  later  settlers  had  to  pre- 
pare the  ground  for  the  seed  with  hand-hoes ;  for  the  roots  and 
stumps  prevent  the  use  of  the  plough  till  they  are  rotten.  All 
the  potato  land  was  cleared  from  the  wood,  and  planted  with 
hoes.  The  trees  were  cut  down  in  winter,  and  cross-cut,  so  as 
to  be  fit  to  be  rolled  in  heaps  for  being  burned.  Boiling  is 
heavy  work,  and  often  requires  four  or  five  men  with  hand- 
levers  :  on  which  account  the  neighbours  gather  to  it  in  parties. 
The  Americans  are  amazingly  dexterous  at  this  work,  rolling 
huge  logs  along,  launching  them  to  the  right  or  left,  turning 
them  round  a  stump  in  the  way,  or  raising  one  end  over  it, 
and  heaving  it  up  on  the  pile.  The  ashes  of  the  great  quantity 
of  timber  which  grows  upon  the  land  make  good  manure  for 
the  first  crops — a  most  merciful  arrangement  of  Providence  for 
the  poor  settler,  who  has  to  sow  and  plant  among  stumps  and 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  131 

spreading  roots,  which  often  occupy  one-third  of  the  ground. 
The  first  two  crops  are  generally  good.  No  wheat  was  sown 
till  the  second  week  in  May,  nor  potatoes  planted  till  the  first 
of  June.  Heaping  was  from  the  middle  of  August  to  that  of 
November.  The  potatoes  were  raised  in  October.  Spring 
comes  now  somewliat  earlier,  and  harvest  generally  comes  all  at 
once.  Grain  sown  at  eight  days'  distance  will  often  ripen  sim- 
ultaneously. I  have  known  good  wheat  reaped  in  Pictou  on 
the  same  da}"^  in  August  that  it  was  sown  in  May;  but  this  is 
very  seldom. 

'*  In  June  I  received  a  long  letter  from  the  Rev.  John  Buist 
in  Greenock,  being  the  first  word  I  heard  from  Scotland  since 
I  left  it.  It  contained  much  news,  both  ecclesiastical  and  po- 
litical, and  was  to  me  like  life  from  the  dead.  Looking  on 
myself  as  an  exile  from  the  world,  and  especially  from  Scotland, 
the  reading  of  this  letter  revived  all  my  tender  feelings  for  my 
native  country,  my  relations  and  friends,  especially  the  minis- 
ters whom  I  left  behind.  At  the  same  time  I  had  a  letter 
from  my  father,  with  the  news  of  my  mother's  death.  Thus  I 
was  taught  to  rejoice  with  trembling;  yet,  it  helped  to  reconcile 
me  to  my  lot.  Keluetance  to  part  with  my  mother  was  one 
of  my  objections  against  coming  to  Nova  Scotia  ;  and  now  I 
saw  that  staying  at  home  would  not  have  secured  me  from  part- 
ing with  her.  For  this  event  I  was  partly  prepared  b}'  a  dream, 
which  I  had  at  the  time  of  her  death.  The  dream  is  not  worth 
relating  to  others;  but  it  was  such  a  warning  to  me,  that  I 
really  expected  to  hear  by  the  first  letter  of  the  death  of  a  near 
relation.  This  esjDCctation  reconciled  me  more  readily  to  the 
bereavement." 

The  dream  to  which  he  here  refers  was  that  he  had  seen  liis 
father's  house  on  fire,  and  the  remarkable  circumstance  about 
it  is,  that  he  had  it  on  the  vcn/  'nirjlit  his  mother  du:(l.  In  wri- 
ting about  it  to  his  friends  in  Scot;land  he  snid,  that  he  believed 
that  God  sometimes  spoke  to  men  in  a  dream  of  the  night.  It; 
may  perhaps  by  some  be  regarded  as  superstition,  but  it  is  a  fact 
that  he  sometimes  regarded  dreams,  those  of  them  at  all  events 


132  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

which  appeared  as  any  way  remarkable.  Among  his  "memo- 
rabilia" the  following  occurs  in  short-liand,  "Dreamed  that  I 
was  busily  engaged  in  quenching  my  father's  little  house  on 
fire."  We  have  heard  of  more  than  one  instance,  where  he 
mentioned  dreams  which  he  had,  as  leading  him  to  expect  good 
or  evil  tidings,  and  of  his  connecting  his  dreams  with  events 
that  followed. 

The  above  paragraph  cxiiibits  one  of  the  privations  of  his 
lot,  which  a  heart  like  his,  alive  to  the  tenderest  feelings  toward 
kindred  and  country,  must  have  felt  very  severely, — the  little 
intercourse  he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  even  by  letter  with  his 
native  land,  and  his  friends  there,  lie  had  left  Scotland  in 
June  of  the  previous  year,  so  that  a  whole  year  had  note  elapsed 
be/ore  he  had  received  any  icord  from  his  friends.  The  mis- 
sionary on  the  most  remote  and  solitary  isle  of  the  sea  is  scarcely 
so  shut  out  from  intercourse  with  the  yrorld  as  this.  Of  his 
friends  and  acquaintances  whom  he  left  in  Scotland,  scarcely 
ever  did  he  see  the  face  of  any  in  the  flesh.  He  never  returned 
to  visit  them,  none  of  them  visited  him,  and  we  know  of  none 
who  removed  hither.  He  was  probably,  however,  never  as 
long  again  without  some  communication  with  his  friends.  Usu- 
ally he  received  packages,  at  least  twice  a  year.  There  was 
mail  communication  from  Falmouth  to  Halifax  oftener,  but 
such  was  the  class  of  vessels  employed,  so  badly  constructed, 
so  liable  to  shipwreck,  and  so  fatal  to  human  life,  that  they 
went  in  the  Navy  by  the  name  of  coffins ;  and  tli«  mode  of  com- 
munication usually  adopted,  was  by  the  vessels  which  came  out 
spring  and  fall  for  timber.  In  fact,  these  were  the  two  special 
seasons  of  writing  and  receiving  letters.  Then  a  few  years  af- 
ter the  war  broke  out,  and  continued  with  slight  interruption 
for  more  than  twenty  years,  rendering  all  communication  with 
the  mother  country  difficult  and  dangerous. 

But  the  more  rare  such  communications  were,  the  more  were 
th.ey  valued.  There  was  scarcely  such  a  thing  at  that  time  as 
a  religious  periodical,  to  inform  him  of  what  was  doing  in  the 
church  abroad,  and  he  was  indebted  almost  entirely  to  his  cor- 


REV.   JAMES   MACOREGOU,   D.D.  133 

respondenta  for  ecclesiastical  intelligence  from  Scotland.  In 
Mr.  Buist  he  had  a  faithful  friend  and  valuable  correspondent. 
We  have  before  us  several  letters,  which  f)rin  a  complete  re- 
cord of  the  events  which  had  occurred  affecting  both  church 
and  state  during  the  months  previous,  together  with  the  per- 
sonal and  family  history  of  ministers  of  his  acquaintance. 
Such  letters  to  him  in  his  solitude  were  as  "  cold  waters  to  a 
thirsty  soul."  He  had  other  correspondents  such  as  the  Rev. 
James  Robertson,  of  Kilmarnock,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Pringle, 
of  Perth,  the  Rev.  James  Barlas,  of  Crieff",  and  some  years 
later,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Gilfillan,  of  Comrie,  but  Wr.  Buist  was 
the  most  valued.  This  correspondence  on  buth  sides  was  a  de- 
liglitful  exhibition  of  brotherly  love  and  Christian  sympathy. 
Ilis  letters  to  them  were  highly  valued.  Some  years  afterward 
portions  of  them  were  published  in  the  religious  periodicals  of 
the  day,  and  have  thus  been  preserved;  but  we  are  not  aware 
that  there  was  any  such  periodical  at  that  time  in  Scotland.  And 
thus  all  his  letters  written  during  the  first  few  years  of  his  min- 
istry have  perished.  ]3ut  from  the  letters  received  in  reply, 
we  learn  something  of  the  nature  of  their  contents.  We  learn 
that  he  poured  into  the  ear  of  friendship  the  tale  of  his  trials, 
his  labours,  and  his  success — that  he  sought  the  opinion  and 
counsel  of  fathers  and  brethren  on  subjects  of  difficulty.  We 
find  him  requesting  their  views  on  difficult  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture, or  on  perplexing  questions  of  theology,  but  especially 
pleading  for  ministerial  help,  and  sometimes  for  a  helpmeet  for 
him;  while  we  notice  his  love  for  the  flovi^ers  of  his  native  land 
in  a  request  to  send  him  some  daisy  seed.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  their  letters  they  cheer  and  encourage  him  in  his  labours  and 
privations,  rejoicing  in  his  joys  and  weeping  over  his  trials,  and 
sometimes  accompanied  them  with  substantial  expressions  of 
their  sympathy  in  books  or  pamphlets  recently  published. 

"The   session   appointed   that   July  the  11th   should  be  ob- 
served   by  all   under  their  inspection,  as  a  day  of  humiliation 
for  sin,  and  prayer  for  the  favour  and  grace  of  God  to  the  con- 
gregation, specifying  a  number  of  plain  causes  and  reasons  for 
12 


134:  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

the  appointment.  As  the  preaching  could  only  accommodate 
one  side  of  the  congregation,  the  other  complained  for  want  of 
it;  to  remedy  which  the  session  agreed  that  there  should  be 
another  humiliation  day  in  the  fall,  and  the  preaching  on  the 
other  side  of  the  congregation.  This  example  has  been  almost 
invariably  followed  ever  since.  The  same  custom  is  observed, 
I  believe,  through  all  the  New  England  States. 

"  This  humiliation  day,  the  first  ever  observed  publicly  in 
Pictou,  was  kept  very  diiferently  by  different  people.  Some 
observed  it  with  due  attention  and  solemnity,  sincerely  seeking, 
I  believe,  to  humble  themselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God ;  and  they  received  from  him  the  favour  and  grace  which 
they  supplicated.  But  many  others,  especially  those  who  were 
not  within  reach  of  hearing  sermon  (I  allude  not  to  the  profli- 
gate), did  not  keep  it,  and  did  not  know  how  to  keep  it.  Some 
of  them  liad  never  seen  such  a  thing,  and  had  no  idea  of  it. 
Before  the  next  humiliation  day  came  round,  occasion  was 
taken  to  explain  to  them  its  nature  and  end,  and  that  it  should 
be  observed  with  the  solemnity  and  sanctity  of  a  Sabbath ;  and 
ever  after,  so  far  as  I  know,  they  did  so  keep  it. 

"  During  this  month  the  men  were  chiefly  engaged  in  build- 
ing the  two  new  meeting-houses;  but,  instead  of  employing 
contractors  to  build  them,  they  agreed  to  divide  the  work  into 
a  number  of  lots,  and  appointed  a  party  of  themselves  to  every 
lot.  One  party  cut  the  logs  and  hauled  them  to  the  site; 
another  hewed  them  and  laid  them  in  their  place;  a  third  pro- 
vided boards  for  the  roofs  and  floors;  a  fourth  provided  the 
shingles;  those  who  were  joiners  were  appointed  to  make  th.e 
doors  and  windows;  and  those  who  did  not  choose  to  work  pro- 
vided the  glass  and  the  nails.  Moss  (fag)  was  stuff'ed  between 
tlie  logs,  to  keep  out  the  wind  and  rain  ;  but  neither  of  the 
houses  was  lined  with  boards  or  ceiled,  neither  was  one  of  tlicm 
seated,  otherwise  than  by  logs  laid  where  seats  should  be. 
Public  worship  was  conducted  in  the  open  air  all  this  sun) m or 
and  part  of  harvest,  till  the  churches  were  finished;  and  we 
had   the   same  kind  Providence  preserving  us  from  rain  and 


REV.    JAMES    JMACGllEGOR,    D.D.  135 

tempest  as  we  had  last  year;  but  no  sooner  were  the  houses 
built  than  great  rain  came  on  the  Sabbath. 

'*  Such  were  the  first  two  churches  of  Pictou,  and  for  u  while 
they  had  no  pulpits,  purely  because  they  could  make  a  shift 
without  them ;  and  when  they  were  made,  they  were  not  of 
mahogany,  but  of  the  white  pine  of  Pictou.  However,  this 
mean  exterior  did  not  prevent  the  gospel  from  being  preached 
and  heard  with  profit  and  comfort.* 

"  During  summer  the  session  had  several  conversations  about 
dispensing  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper,  but  I  got  it  delayed 
for  this  year.  I  had  dispensed  the  ordinance  of  baptism  often, 
sometimes  indeed  with  fear  and  trembling,  but  I  could  not  pre- 
vail upon  myself  to  dispense  the  Lord's  Supper;  partly  be- 
cause I  believed  that  not  many  of  the  people  were  prepared, 
but  chiefly  because  I  thought  it  too  heavy  a  burden  first  to  con- 
verse with  the  candidates  one  by  one,  and  then  to  go  through 
all  the  customary  services  in  both  languages;  so  it  was  put  oif. 

"  Preaching  in  two  languages,  and  in  two  places  so  far  dis- 
tant from  one  another,  created  me  many  difiiculties,  for  every- 
thing I  wished  the  whole  people  to  know  needed  to  be  told 
them  four  diff"erent  times,  viz.,  in  the  two  languages  and  the 
two  places.  Though  I  preached  two  sermons  every  Sabbath, 
yet  the  people  heard  but  one  sermon  in  two  weeks,  except  those 
who  understood  both  languages.  Even  this  circumstance  was 
sometimes  productive  of  trouble ;  for  some  who  were  backward 
to  support  the  gospel,  insisted  that  they  who  understood  both 
languages  should   pay  a  double   share  of  the   stipend.     Some- 

*  These  two  churches  were  some  35  or  40  feet  long  by  25  or  30  wide.  The 
only  sents  in  them  were  logs  of  wood,  or  slabs  supported  on  blocks.  There 
was  a  gallery  or  rather  an  upper  story  with  a  floor,  seated  in  a  similar  man- 
ner, to  which  the  young  went  up  by  a  ladder.  The  one  on  the  East  River  was 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  a  short  distance  aliove  New  Glasgow, 
on  a  rising  ground  between  the  old  burial  ground  and  the  line  of  the  present 
railroad.  The  one  at  Loch  Broom  was  situated  near  the  head  of  the  harbour, 
on  the  farm  then  owned  by  William  MacKenzie,  still  held  by  his  descendants. 
It  was  situated  near  the  shore,  close  by  the  brook  that  there  enters  the  har- 
bour. 


136  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

times  the  Highlanders  complained  that  I  did  not  give  them 
their  due  of  the  public  services,  but  the  rest  complained  that 
they  got  too  much  ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  carry  ahviiys  with 
such  an  even  hand  as  to  please  both  parties.  Sometimes  they 
contended  for  precedence.  The  Gaelic  was  most  prevalent  on 
the  East  River,  and  the  English  on  the  West  River  and  TLir- 
bour.  This  decided  that  at  the  former  public  worship  should 
begin  in  the  Gaelic,  and  in  the  English  at  the  latter.  At  other 
meetings,  however,  little  bickerings  continued  for  some  time 
but  they  learned  to  yield  to  one  another,  as  they  saw  that  no 
partiality  was  intended.  At  examinations  and  marriages  I 
made  it  a  rule  to  speak  to  those  who  knew  both  languages  in 
that  which  they  preferred.  In  one  instance  only  of  marriage 
had  I  to  speak  in  both  languages,  telling  the  man  his  duties  nnd 
engagements  in  English,  and  the  woman  hers  in  Gaelic.  How 
they  managed  to  court  or  to  converse  afterwards  I  know  not; 
but  they  declared  to  me,  and  the  neighbours  confirmed  it,  that 
they  could  hardly  speak  a  single  word  of  one  another's  lan- 
guage." 

This  jealousy  between  English  and  Gaelic  people  is  very  apt 
to  arise  wherever  they  are  united  in  the  same  society.  Hugh 
Miller,  in  his  "  Schools  and  Schoolmasters,"  has  given  a  graphic 
description  of  the  working  of  it  in  his  native  town,  and  some- 
thing similar  has  been  exhibited  in  the  county  of  Pictou.  The 
Doctor  had  at  times  some  difficulty  in  repressing  such  feelings. 
But  he  dealt  out  even-handed  justice  to  them,  and  he  was  equally 
beloved  by  both.  Two  or  three  anecdotes  illustrative  of  this 
may  be  interesting.  Having  preached  on  one  occasion  in  English 
at  the  Middle  River,  the  people  requested  him  to  preach  the 
second  sermon  in  the  same  language,  as  most,  if  not  all  present, 
understood  it.  He  told  those  who  made  the  request  to  go 
round  among  those  assembled  and  see  if  there  were  any  there 
who  had  no  English,  and  if  there  were  none  he  would  comply 
with  their  request.  They  did  so,  and  returned  to  say  that  there 
was  just  one  old  woman,  who  had  no  English.  "  Oh  then,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "  We  must  have  the  other  sermon  in  Gaelic."     He 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  137 

added  that  he  would  act  in  the  same  way  with  the  English  un- 
der similar  circumstances,  and  of  this  an  example  occurred  on 
another  occasion.  Being  at  the  upper  settlement  of  the  East 
River,  he  was  nsked  to  preach  both  sermons  in  Gaelic.  He 
said  that  if  all  present  understood  it,  he  would.  He  was  told 
that  there  was  just  one  person,  a  stranger,  who  did  not  under- 
stand Gaelic,  and  he  did  not  seem  to  care  about  preaching.  He 
replied,  "  Oh,  he  has  a  soul  to  be  saved, — and  who  knows  but 
this  sermon  might  be  the  means  of  saving  that  soul  and  making 
it  happy  to  all  eternity?"  On  another  occasion  having  preached 
two  sermons  in  Gaelic,  he  found  some  persons  who  did  not  un- 
derstand that  language,  and  preached  a  third  sermon  for  them 
in  English. 

Still  his  feelings  were  very  warm  toward  his  Highland  coun- 
trymen, which  he  exhibited  in  so  simple  a  way  as  putting  his 
contribution  at  a  sacramental  collection  into  the  plate  with  the 
Gaelic,  saying  in  private  to  some  of  the  Highlanders,  that  he 
did  not  like  to  see  their  collection  far  behind  the  English. 

"  This  summer  many  of  the  Highlanders  wrote,  or  rather 
caused  to  be  written,  letters  to  their  relations  in  Scotland,  in- 
forming them  that  now  they  had  the  gospel  here  in  purity,  in- 
viting them  to  come  over,  and  telling  them  that  a  few  years 
would  free  them  from  their  difficulties.  Accordingly,  next 
summer  a  number  of  them  found  their  way  hither.  Next  year 
letters  were  sent  home  with  the  same  information,  and  brought 
more.  This  circumstance  turned  the  current  of  emigration  to- 
ward Pictou,  so  that  almost  all  the  emigrants  to  Nova  Scotia 
settled  in  Pictou,  till  it  was  full. 

"  As  to  the  success  of  my  ministrations  this  summer,  I  had 
more  reason  to  be  content  than  to  complain.  People  in  gene- 
ral attended  public  ordinances  diligently  and  attentively. 
There  was  much  outward  reformation ;  and,  I  doubt  not,  some 
believers  were  added  to  the  Lord.  On  considering,  as  maturely 
as  I  could,  the  circumstances  of  the  people,  I  thought  it  my 
duty  to  sound  the  alarm  of  the  law  in  their  ears.     Accordingly, 

I  preached  a  course  of  sermons   on   the   Ten  Commandments, 
12* 


188  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

with  the  view  of  showing  them  the  holiness  of  God,  their  duty, 
and  tlicir  fearful  condition  under  the  curse  for  breaking  it ;  the 
impossibility  of  justification  before  God  by  their  own  works, 
and,  of  course,  the  necessity  of  fleeing  to  Christ,  the  hope  set 
before  them;  and,  finally,  tlie  faith,  love,  gratitude,  and  obedi- 
ence they  owed  to  Christ  for  his  obedience  and  suifering  under 
the  curse.     I  afterwards  found  that  these  sermons  were  not  in 


REV.    JAMES    MACGttEGOH,    D.D.  139 


CHAPTER    VII. 

SECOND  year's  LABOURS.      1787-1788. 

"  Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen  ?  to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to 
undo  the  heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that  yc  break 
every  yoke  ?"     Isa.  Iviii.  6. 

"  A  LITTLE  before  winter  set  in,  I  went  to  Merigoraish,  a 
small  settlement  about  ten  miles,  or  rather  fifteen  miles,  east 
from  Pictou,  in  consequence  of  an  invitation,  preached  to  them 
on  Sabbath,  and  visited  several  of  the  fiimilies.  Having  no 
prospect  of  a  minister  themselves,  they  begged  of  me  to  visit 
them  as  often  as  I  could,  and,  as  far  as  depended  upon  them, 
they  put  themselves  under  my  charge.  I  promised  to  do  for 
them  what  I  could,  and  accordingly  I  gave  them  annually  less 
or  more  supply  for  nearly  thirty  years,  when  they  got  a  minis- 
ter to  themselves — the  Rev.  William  Patrick.  This  applica- 
tion from  without  the  bounds  of  my  own  congregation  was 
some  consolation  to  me.  Indeed,  I  might  be  called  the  minis- 
ter of  the  north  coast  of  Nova  Scotia,  rather  than  of  Pictou,  for 
at  that  time  there  was  no  other  minister  along  the  whole  north 
coast,  except  one  Church  of  England  clergyman  near  the  east 
end  of  the  Province." 

Among  the  first  settlers  in  Merigomish  were  some  of  the 
Hector's  passengers,  but  the  greater  part  of  them  were  dis- 
banded soldiers.  From  this  it  may  be  understood  that  they 
were  neither  so  steady  in  their  habits,  nor  so  attentive  to  the 
duties  of  morality  and  religion  as  the  people  in  the  other  sec- 
tions of  the  county.     In  fact  they  were  an  extremely  wild  set. 


140  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

In  particular,  drinking  prevailed  to  an  extent  which  is  now 
almost  incredible.  An  amusing  anecdote  is  told  illustrative  of 
this.  On  going  there  once  to  preach,  a  man  applied  to  him  to  bap- 
tize a  child  fur  him.  Before  consenting,  tlic  Doctor  made  some 
enquiries  among  some  of  his  neighbours  as  to  his  moral  char- 
acter. He  received  the  most  ample  testimonials  as  to*  his  good 
conduct.  "  But,"  said  the  Doctor,  "does  he  not  drink?  I 
have  heard  that  he  sometimes  takes  a  spree."  ^'  Oh  yes,"  was 
the  reply,  "  but  ice  all  do  that."  Until  the  arrival  of  a  second 
minister  in  the  county,  the  Doctor  could  only  give  them  occa- 
sional sermons,  hut  after  that  event,  they  became  part  of  his 
regular  charge,  and  received  a  fifth  of  his  services.,  until  the 
increase  of  the  other  sections  of  his  congregation  obliged  him 
to  relinquish  the  care  of  them.  They  were  then  for  several 
years  vacant,  receiving  occasional  sermons  from  him  and  other 
members  of  Presbytery,  until  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Patrick  in 
1815.  His  labours  among  them  were  successful,  so  that  a  great 
change  took  place  in  the  habits  and  morals  of  the  community. 
Yet  owing  we  suppose  to  the  partial  ministerial  service  he  was 
able  to  give  them,  and  the  strength  and  inveteracy  of  their  old 
evil  habits,  the  change  was  not  so  complete  as  in  other  sections, 
nor  did  the  people  for  a  long  time  seem  as  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  religion  as  the  inhabitants  of  other  portions 
of  the  county. 

"  In  November  I  received  the  first  money  for  preaching  in 
Pictou — a  part  of  the  first  year's  stipend.  I  lived  a  year  and 
a  quarter  here  without  receiving  a  shilling,  and  almost  without 
giving  any.  I  ought  to  have  received  forty  pounds  of  cash  for 
the  preceding  year  (with  forty  pounds  worth  of  produce),  but 
twenty  seven  was  all  that  I  received.  The  truth  is,  it  could 
not  be  gotten.  The  price  of  wheat  was  then  six  shillings,  and 
some  of  the  people  offered  wheat  for  three  shillings,  to  make 
up  their  share  of  the  stipend,  but  could  not  obtain  it.  Almost 
all  the  twenty-seven  pounds  were  due  by  me  to  some  necessary 
engagements  of  charity  which  I  was  under.  My  board,  which 
was  my  chief  expense,  was  paid  from  the  produce  part  of  the 


REV.    JAMES    MACGUEGOR,    D.D.  I'll 

stipenci,  which  was  not  so  difficult  to  be  obtained  as  the  cash 
part.  But  even  of  the  produce  part  there  was  nigh  ten  pounds 
dtlii-icnt. 

"  I  plainly  saw  that  I  need  never  expect  my  stipend  to  he 
punctually  paid  ;  indeed,  scarcely  anything  is  punctually  paid 
ill  tliis  part  of  the  world.  It  is  a  bad  habit,  ill  to  Ibrego.  But 
my  mind  was  so  knit  to  them,  by  the  hope  of  doing  good  to 
their  souls,  that  I  resolved  to  be  content  with  what  they  could 
give.  Little  did  I  then  think  that  I  would  see  the  day  that 
Pictou  would  pay  £1,000  per  annum  to  support  the  gospel.  I 
suppose  I  have  lost  £1,000  in  stipends;  but  I  have  now  ten 
times  more  property  than  when  1  came  to  Pictou.'^ 

We  must  here  give  some  account  of  the  payment  of  stipend 
at  that  time,  and  during  almost  the  whole  course  of  his  minis- 
try. In  the  first  place,  the  mode  of  raising  the  amount  was  by 
assessment.  How  it  was  for  the  first  year  or  two  we  are  un- 
certain, but  from  an  early  period  this  plan  was  adopted  under 
the  following  pledge: 

"We  promise  to  pay  to  James  MacGregor,  minister,  one 
hundred  pounds  currency  yearly,  one  half  in  cash  and  one  half 
in  produce,  as  wheat,  oats,  butter,  pork,  viz.,  on  the  first  Tues- 
day of  March,  yearly.  And  we  hereby  agree  that  there  be  a 
yearly  Congregational  meeting  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  July, 
to  assess  for  and  collect  the  stipends,  as  we  are  all  to  pay  in 
proportion  to  our  polls  and  estates.  We  agree  that  there  be 
four  or  five  assessors  and  collectors." 

And  the  following  bond  of  adherence  was  subscribed  by  those 
who  had  not  been  parties  to  the  original  call  : 

"  We  the  underwritten  hereby  declare  our  adherence  to  the 
obligation  subscribed  by  the  older  settlers  of  this  river  for  pay- 
ing the  minister's  stipend,  that  is,  conjointly  with  the  foimer 
subscribers,  we  promise  to  pay  to  James  MacGregor,  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  pounds  yearly,  one  half  in  cash,  one  lialf  in  pro- 
duce, as  wheat,  oats,  butter,  pork,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  jMarch 
yearly,   by   an    equal   assessment  upon    our   polls  and  estates. 


142 


MEMOIR    OF   THE 


Witness  our  hands  this  sixteenth  day  of  December,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  tlirce,  at  the  East  lliver  of  Pictou." 

The  assessment  was  made  on  tlieir  hind,  cattle,  and  pulls,  or 
adult  male  heads,  one  for  example  being  at  the  following  rate: 
Pulls,  5s.  each,  cattle,  Is.  SiL,  sheep,  1(/.,  each  hundred  acres 
of  land,  Is.  Sd.  We  will  give  a  specimen  of  one  of  the  assess 
bills,  as  we  think  it  will  be  deemed  a  curiosity  in  the  present  day. 

"  Assess  Bill  of  the  jNIinister's  Stipend  from  31st  July  1803, 
to  the  31st  July  1804.     West  Branch." 


No. 


10 


15 


31 


Names. 


William  Fraser 

Allan  Mac-Quarry 

A 'ex.  Dunbar 

Wni.  Dunbar 

James   Cameron 

Donald   Chisholin 

Hector  MacLean 

Alex.  MaoDcinald 

Alex.  Macintosh 

Finlay  Macintosh 

Farquhar  Falconer 

IIuj;h    Fraser,  Meadow.s , 

Thoma?  Munro 

Hiisli  Fraser,  Carpenter 

Henry  Burnside 

David  MacLean 

.lohn  MiicLcod 

Robert  Clark 

Alex.  MacDonald,  Jr , 

With  twelve  others  at  the  same  rate 


2.50 
200 
500 
325 

400 
400 
400 
300 
500 


400 
350 
300 
200 
100 
400 
300 
300 


31  5625  82 


7 

3 

10 

5 

12 

12 

8 

6 

1 

i 

12 
14 

14 

15 

9 


137 


£. 


10  11 

11  4i 
...  5 
16  9i 
19  3 


17j  6* 
5 


3* 
4i 
10 
6 
1 

4i 
l| 
7 


£16   13  6J 


The  following  is  the  summing  up  fur  the  whole  congrega- 
tion : 

179  Polls  at  5s.  £44  15  0 

761  Cattle  and  land  at  l.s.  ^<J.  47  11  3 

798  Sheep  at  hd.  each.  113  3 


£93  19  6 


Due  ]\Tr.  IMacGregor  by  the  district  to  avoid 

fractions.  IC  0 


£94  15  6 


RKV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  143 

Due  the  district  since  last  year.  £     112 

The  harbours  hi.  4  3  4 


5  4  G 
100  0  0 

£94  15  G 


In  making  these  assessments  there  was  sometimes  difficulty 
in  adjusting  the  proportion  due  by  the  different  sections.  Tims 
we  have  on  the  back  of  the  assess  bills,  such  notes  as  the  follow- 
ing, "  East  River,  Pictou,  June  1st,  1801: — Sir,  I  made  the 
Sess-BiU  long  ago,  but  the  upper  part  of  the  Settlement  s;iys, 
they  will  not  p;iy  you  till  they  get  better  convenience  of  the 
sermon,  and  I  did  not  send  it  down  till  now,  and  you  will  ex- 
cuse me  ; — Your  humble  Servant,  I.  C."  "And  ag.dn,  I,  II.  F., 
have  assessed  all  them  that  is  above  Angus  MacQuarry,  and  we 
want  our  share  of  the  sermons  at  Charles  Macintosh's,  as  we 
will  pay,  till  such  time  as  we  will  agree  about  the  meeting- 
house." 

The  plan  of  raising  the  stipends  by  assessment  was  liable  to 
objection,  and  in  practice  attended  with  a  number  of  difficulties. 
Accordingly,  in  the  year  1807  an  attempt  was  made  to  raise 
the  minister's  stipend  by  voluntary  subscription  under  the  fol- 
lowing heading: — 

"  The  manner  of  raising  the  minister's  stipend  by  assessment 
being  attended  by  several  inconveniences,  and  it  being  thought 
probable,  that  it  may  be  more  conveniently  raised  by  subscrip- 
tion, we,  the  subscribers,  in  order  to  make  a  fair  trial,  which  of 
the  two  ways  is  best,  have  agreed  to  a  subscription  for  three 
years.  Wherefore  we  promise  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid  yearly, 
for  three  years,  to  the  Rev.  James  MacGregor  for  his  ministe- 
rial labours,  the  sums  annexed  to  each  of  our  names  respectively 
at  his  house,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  March,  one-lialf  in  cash, 
and  one-half  in  merchantable  produce,  at  market  price.  Done 
at  Pictou,  October  26th,  1807." 


144  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

The  result  of  this  effort  was  a  subscription  on  the  Upper 
Settlement,  East  River,  of  £56.0.2,  and  on  the  Lower  Settle- 
ment of  £50.19.0.  But  assessments  were  resumed  as  early  as 
the  year  1810.  In  the  year  IS  15,  however,  the  system  of  vol- 
untary subscription  was  at  length  finally  adopted  under  the  fol- 
lowing heading  : — 

"  On  account  of  the  complaints  and  difficulties  attending  as- 
sessment, the  Congregational  meeting  in  July  last  resolved  to 
raise  the  minister's  stipend  by  voluntary  subscription,  the  sub- 
scription to  be  reduced  or  changed  after  three  years,  as  the 
Congregational  meeting  shall  direct.  Of  the  half  belonging  to 
the  ( Upper)  Settlements,  amounting  to  seventy-five  pounds 
currency,  we,  subscribers,  promise  to  pay  our  shares  annually, 
for  three  years,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  March,  to  the  llev 
James  MacGregor,  for  his  ministerial  labours  among  us,  viz., 
the  suras  annexed  to  our  names.  N.  B. — It  was  agreed  by  the 
Congregational  meeting,  that  if  the  subscription  should  amount 
to  more  than  seventy-five  pounds,  the  overplus  shall  be  deduc- 
ted from  the  sums  of  those  who  subscribe  highest,  according  to 
their  circumstances,  as  the  men  appointed  for  that  purpose 
shall  decide.  The  sermons  at  the  East  and  West  Branch  meet- 
ing houses  shall  be  in  proportion  to  the  subscription  belonging 
to  each,  March  1st,  1815." 

Such  were  the  plans  adopted  for  raising  the  amount.  "With 
these  there  was  not  so  much  reason  to  complain,  but  in  every 
other  respects,  the  arrangements  were  most  deficient.  During 
the  greater  part  of  his  ministry  the  amount  promised  was  en- 
tirely inadequate,  even  if  it  had  been  regularly  and  fully  paid. 
After  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  the  prices  of  almost  every 
article  were  very  high,  flour  being  often  as  high  as  five  pounds 
per  barrel,  and  upwards,  and  yet  his  salary  for  a  long  time  was 
only  £100  currency,  $400.  Even  if  this  amount  had  been 
regularly  and  punctually  paid,  it  would  have  been  entirely  in- 
sufficient for  his  comfortable  maintenance,  but  this  was  very 
far  from  being  the  case.  There  were  no  regular  times  of  pay- 
ment observed.     There  were  dates  fixed  at  which  the  amount 


REV.    JAMES   MACGBEGOU,   D.D.  145 

ought  to  be  paid,  but  nobody  thought  the  worse  of  himself,  if 
be  were  weeks  and  even  mouths  behind  the  tiiue.  His  first 
year  had  expired  in  July,  yet  it  was  November  before  any  part 
of  the  salary  was  paid,  and  though  their  arrangements  were  not 
always  so  bad,  and  though  there  were  always  individuals  who 
paid  with  some  regard  to  the  stated  times  appointed,  yet  more 
or  less  of  this  irregularity  continued  till  the  end  of  his  life. 

But  the  deficiencies  were  no  less  remarkable  as  to  the  amount. 
There  was  no  sense  of  joint  responsibility,  except  in  the  appor- 
tioning of  the  amount  among  the  different  sections  of  the  con- 
gregation. As  a  congregation  they  did  not  feel  any  obligatioa 
to  raise  a  fixed  sum,  but  each  man  thought  he  had  done  re- 
markably well,  if  he  had  paid  tlie  amount  of  his  own  assessment. 
Thus  he  received  the  contributions  of  good  payers,  but  those 
of  the  bad  he  had  to  lose  altogether.  It  must  be  observed  that 
the  large  majority  of  his  congregation  were  Highlanders,  who 
are  said  "  to  have  a  decided  preference  for  gratis  preaching." 
They  had  generally  belonged  to  the  Established  Church  in 
Scotland,  where  they  had  not  been  accustomed  directly  to  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  the  gospel,  and  thus  they  were  want- 
ing to  some  extent  in  the  inclination,  and  entirely  in  the  habit  of 
discharging  that  duty.  Besides  a  large  proportion  of  his  flock 
continued  to  be  new  settlers,  who  had  not  the  ability  to  pay  if 
they  were  ever  so  willing.  In  this  way  a  large  amount  was  lost 
entirely.  On  the  first  year  when  the  salary  was  only  eighty 
pounds  nominally,  there  were  ten  pounds  short  of  the  produce 
part  and  thirteen  of  the  cash.  The  same  thing  continued  every 
year.  Among  his  accounts  we  find  such  entries  as  the  follow- 
ing, regarding  individual  subscriptions.  "A  M'K.  owes  14.s, 
am  willing  to  forgive."  "  All  due  by  former  lists  and  more, 
but  1  forgive  it."  '•'  With  Gs.  8(/.,  perhaps  to  be  forgiven." 
"■  I  forgive  6s.  \hd,"  "Paid,  that  is,  forgiven."  In  this  way  he 
might  well  say  that  he  had  lost  upwards  of  £1000  of  stipends. 
In  regard  to  the  collecting  the  stipend,  another  circumstance 
must  be  mentioned,  that  during  the  principal  part  of  his  minis- 
try the  greater  part  of  the  accounts  for  stipend  were  kept  by 
13 


146  ,     MEMOIR   OF  THE 

himself.  During  the  first  few  years  they  were  kept  by  the  late 
John  Patterson  thus  far,  that  a  good  proportion  of  the  produce 
contributions  were  paid  into  his  hands,  and  he  sent  them  to 
market,  or  otherwise  disposed  of  them,  supplying  the  Doctor,  in 
return,  with  goods  or  it  might  be  some  cash.  But  after  his 
marriage,  all  accounts  were  kept  by  himself.  If  there  were 
such  officers  as  collectors  or  conimittce  of  management,  it  was 
but  little  they  did,  for  he  had  still  to  deal  with  every  individual 
contributor  in  his  congregation.  This  involved  a  great  aiuount 
of  trouble,  rendering  it  necessary  that  he  should  keep  accounts 
with  one  or  two  hundred  individuals,  for  sums  from  5s.  upwards, 
and  receiving  payments  in  a  quarter  of  veal  from  one,  a  cake 
of  maple-sugar  from  a  second,  or  a  bushel  of  wheat  from  a 
third. 

We  have  before  us  John  Patterson's  account  up  till  the  time 
of  his  marriage  ;  nine  years  after  his  arrival,  and  a  few  of  the 
charges  are  curious.     Witness  the  following  items,  with  the 
exception  of  the  first,  all  at  the  close  of  the  account : 
"  To  a  black  girl,  by  Matthew  Harris,  £  50    Os.  Od. 

"  Notes  of  hand  and  other  accounts,  de- ")  TC  19    7 

livered  some  time  ago  to  amount,         j 

"  List  of  accounts  rendered  since  the  above  ")        ^^^q     n      -i 
list,  J 

"  Deficiencies  as  per  account,  19  14       5 

"  Reduction  on  £83.0.0.  worth  of  wheat,")  90  15      0 

from  6s.  per  bushel,  to  4s.  Qd.,  j 

} 


"  Reduction  on  £30  worth  of  wheat  from 
5s.  to  4s.  Qd. 


3     0      0 


Some  of  our  readers  may  have  heard  of  stipend  being  paid  in 
some  curious  ways,  but  we  are  certain  that  the  first  item  in  the 
above  list  will  be  something  new  to  them,  at  least  as  occurring 
this  side  of  Mason  &  Dixon's  line.  We  shall  have  some  ex- 
planations to  give  regarding  it  presently.  In  this  account  we 
must  notice  the  large  deficiencies,  not  only  the  amount  stated 
p,s  such,  but  also  the  large  amount  of  accounts  and  notes  of  hand, 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  147 

amounting  to  over  £200,  the  greater  part  of  which  we  may  safely 
presume  was  never  paid. 

Then  the  real  value  of  the  produce  part  of  the  payments  was 
far  sliort  of  the  nominal.  This  appears  on  the  above,  where 
there  appears  a  discount  of  nearly  25  per  cent,  on  that  portion 
of  the  payments.  We  have  before  us  piles  of  his  accounts, 
which  are  full  of  such  credits  as  the  following  : — "C.  M'K. 
10 libs,  tallow."  ''P.  G.,  3  bushels  of  wheat."  "I.  T.,  2s.  6d. 
in  birds,  and  131bs.  in  butter,  and  lOlbs.  sugar."  "  D.  F.,  26i 
weight  of  butter ;  gave  him  a  Gaelic  Bible."  ''P.  F.,  paid  in 
1787,  dogs,*  6.S.;  1788,  cash,  Gs.;  1789,  wheat,  lis,  Qd." 
"  W.  owes  paid  by  a  sheep,"  while  another  has  the  follow- 
ing credit,  "  paid  two  brooms."  Now,  while  many  such  pay- 
ments were  the  full  mone}'^  value,  at  which  they  were  estimated, 
yet  many  others  were  far  from  being  so,  and  on  the  whole  such 
a  mode  of  payment  was  far  from  equal  to  cash.  Often  an  infe- 
rior article  was  brought,  an  article  which  was  unsaleable  in  the 
owner's  hands, — at  a  time  when  the  minister  did  not  need 
it,  or  could  not  convert  it  into  a  profitable  use, — and  yet  he  was 
expected  to  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  not  only  so,  but  to 
allow  for  it  the  highest  price.  He  could  not  say  much  about  its 
quality,  or  refuse  it  altogether,  or  chaffer  about  the  price,  with- 
out the  risk  of  giving  a  serious  aflFront.  And  the  length  to 
which  some  would  go  in  taking  advantage  of  him  may  appear 
in  such  credits,  as  the  following,  "  121bs.  ram-mutton,"  or 
"  361bs.  beech-pork." 

When  all  other  means  failed,  persons  had  an  easy  and  never 
failing  resource,  viz.,  giving  their  notes.  Such  was  the  credit 
system  then  prevailing,  that  persons  actually  considered,  that 
they  had  paid  their  accounts,  when  they  had  given  their  notes. 
A  person  once  meeting  another  asked  him  where  he  had  been. 
"Oh,  I  have  been  up  at  Mr.  Mortimer's, poyi'^i;  mi/  account." 
"  Indeed,  how  did  you  pay  it  ?"  "  I  gave  him  my  note."  In 
the  lists  of  arrears  we  find  a  number  marked  "  paid  by  note." 

*  Dog-irons,  we  presume,  articles  employed  in  wood-fires,  for  supporting 
the  stick  while  burning. 


148  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

Few  of  these  would  be  paid.  A  person  has  told  me  that  he 
has  seen  him  looking  over  his  old  papers,  and  as  he  came  across 
sucli  notes  quietly  putting  them  into  the  fire. 

Though  these  notes  were  legal  obligations,  it  would  never 
have  answered  for  him  to  enforce  them  by  the  civil  law.  We 
may  mention  here  that  many  years  afterwards  an  attempt  was 
made  to  enforce  payments  for  the  minister's  salary — not  by 
himself,  for  he  would  rather  have  lost  all,  than  have  pressed 
any  person,  but  by  the  collectors  on  his  behalf.  For  the  honour 
of  the  voluntary  principle,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  eflfort 
was  attended  with  most  injurious  consequences.  Not  only  did 
the  man  who  was  prosecuted  become  his  most  determined  ene- 
my, but  it  lost  him,  for  a  time  at  least,  one  of  his  staunchest 
supporters.  When  the  man  was  sued  he  came  with  a  poor 
story  to  the  Doctor,  who  with  his  usual  kindness  forgave  the 
amount,  and  at  his  request  gave  him  a  receipt.  The  Doctor 
enjoined  him  to  show  this  without  delay  to  the  collector,  who  had 
taken  out  the  writ  against  him,  in  order  that  the  process  might 
be  stopped.  Instead  of  doing  this,  the  man  kept  the  receipt 
until  the  day  of  trial,  and  then  after  the  collector  had  stated 
the  case,  produced  the  receipt.  It  was  natural  enough  that  the 
collector  should  feel  annoyed,  but  being  a  man  of  high  temper, 
though  a  great  friend  of  the  Doctor's,  he  was  highly  indignant 
at  him,  although  he  was  perfectly  innocent  in  the  matter,  and 
it  was  some  time,  notwithstanding  all  the  explanations  he  re- 
ceived, before  his  wrath  was  averted.  It  may  be  mentioned 
that  the  whole  question  of  prosecuting  for  ministers'  stipend 
was  tried  in  another  case  before  the  courts  of  law,  when  it  was 
found  that  the  laws  of  the  Province  did  not  sustain  the  practice, 
in  reference  to  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England. 

As  we  have  referred  to  the  modes  of  paying  ministers'  salary, 
it  is  but  just  to  remark,  that  the  whole  business  of  the  country 
was  at  that  time  conducted  in  a  similar  manner.  The  system 
of  credit  universally  prevailed,  and  there  were  no  regular  times 
of  payment.  This  continued  for  many  years,  even  when  money 
became  abundant,  and,  strange  to  say  !  all  parties  loved  to  have 


REV.   JAMES   MACOREGOR,   D.D.  149 

it  SO.  The  purchasers  hesitated  not  to  take  goods  freely,  the 
day  of  payment  being  so  far  off,  they  felt  as  if  they  were  get- 
ting them  without  paying  for  them.  It  seemed  so  easy  a  way 
of  getting  what  they  wanted,  that  any  system  of  ready  payment 
they  would  have  regarded  as  harsh  and  cruel.  On  the  other 
hand,  traders  actually  encouraged  people  to  go  in  debt,  either 
for  the  sake  of  retaining  their  custom,  or  the  power  which  it 
enabled  them  to  exercise  over  them.  The  credit  system  would 
not  have  been  so  bad  if  there  had  been  regular  times  of  settle- 
ment. But  so  far  from  this  being  the  case,  it  was  often  diffi- 
cult to  get  an  account  from  the  merchant,  particularly  if  he 
thought  it  was  to  be  settled.  He  considered  it  his  interest  to 
keep  persons  in  debt  to  him,  that  he  might  oblige  them  to 
bring  their  articles  to  him,  and  that  thus  he  might  be  enabled 
to  have  them  at  his  own  price,  while  at  the  same  time  he 
charged  the  highest  price  for  his  goods. 

The  system  was  a  ruinous  one  for  all  parties.  The  farmer 
was  led  into  extravagance,  purchasing  articles  with  which  he 
might  have  easily  dispensed,  and  which  he  would  not  have 
purchased,  but  that  the  time  of  payment  faded  so  far  into 
the  distant  perspective,  as  scarcely  to  be  perceptible.  He  made 
no  effort  to  clear  off  pecuniary  liabilities,  and  sat  easy  under  a 
load  of  accumulated  debt.  Many  thus  became  involved  in  such 
a  way,  that  they  were  scarcely  out  of  debt  till  the  end  of  their 
days,  many  had  to  mortgage  their  farms,  which  in  many  instan- 
ces were  never  redeemed.  On  the  other  hand,  the  merchant 
had  a  large  amount  due  him  according  to  his  books,  and  fancied 
himself  making  money.  But  when  he  came  to  settle  up  his 
business,  the  pleasing  delusion  was  dissipated.  The  sums  due 
could  not  be  had  when  wanted,  and  after  distressing  the  people 
by  legal  proceedings,  many  of  them  were  never  paid  at  all,  and 
the  merchant  was  sometimes  ruined,  while  his  books  presented 
an  array  of  figures,  which  showed  him  to  be  a  rich  man. 

Besides,  the  system  induced  a  lax  sense  of  obligation  regard- 
ing pecuniary  engagements,  which  to  some  extent  has  continued 
to  the  present  day.  The  merchant  would  not  pay  the  country 
13* 


150  MKMOIR    OF   THE 

people  cash  for  their  produce,  but  would  insist  on  their  taking 
their  payment  in  p;oods,  and  those  at  the  highest  price.  The 
farmer  felt  this  an  injustice  to  him,  as  the  goods  were  not 
equivalent  to  their  rated  money  value,  he  learned  to  regard  the 
interests  of  the  merchant  as  opposed  to  his  own,  and  came  to 
feel  himself  justified  in  evading  obligations — in  palming  off  in- 
ferior articles,  or  in  taking  advantage  as  he  could.  This  became 
so  habitual  with  many,  that  it  extended  to  all  their  dealings — 
with  the  minister  as  well  as  others;  but  the  latter  was  under  the 
most  unfavourable  circumstances,  as  he  could  not  higgle  or  dis- 
pute about  the  justice  of  charges  made,  or  the  quality  of  articles 
presented.  Altogether  we  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that 
next  to  the  free  introduction  of  rum,  nothing  has  been  so  inju- 
rious to  the  social  and  moral  interests  of  the  Province  as  the 
credit  system  so  long  prevalent. 

In  this  account  of  the  payment  of  stipend  and  of  the  mode 
of  dealing  in  the  country,  we  have  rather  described  the  state 
of  things  some  years  later.  We  therefore  return  to  the  time  at 
which  his  narrative  was  interrupted,  to  remark,  that  here  as  be- 
fore, ''his  deep  poverty  abounded  to  the  riches  of  his  liberality." 
From  the  very  first  he  was  distinguished  by  his  charity.  Du- 
ring the  early  part  of  his  ministry  there  came  a  spring,  which 
proved  very  hard  upon  the  poor  settlers.  Soon  after  he  had 
received  a  payment  on  account  of  stipend,  Donald  MacKny,  with 
whom  he  lodged,  entering  his  room  on  a  Saturday,  found  him 
■with  several  small  piles  of  money  before  him.  "Ah,"  said  Don- 
ald, in  his  free  and  ofi-hand  manner,  "  is  that  what  you  are  at, 
counting  your  money  when  you  should  be  studying  your  ser- 
mons ?"  "Oh,"  said  he  in  reply,  "this  is  for  such  a  person, 
and  this  is  for  such  another,  to  enable  them  to  buy  seed." 
"  But,"  said  Donald,  "  they  will  never  pay  you  back."  "  Well 
if  they  don't,  lean  want  it."  Those  who  were  acquainted  with 
the  circumstances  used  to  say,  that  not  one  half  of  it  would  ever 
have  been  repaid. 

But  the  most    distinguished   act  of  charity   perhaps  of- his 
whole  life  took  place  in  the  first  year  of  his  ministry,  and  is  re- 


REV.    JAMKS    MACCJllEGOll,    D.D.  151 

ferred  to  in  the  paragraph  quoted  above.  ITc  there  remarks 
regarding  tlie  money  part  of  his  first  year's  stipend,  "  Almost  all 
the  twenty  seven  pounds  were  due  by  me  to  some  necessary  en- 
gagements of  charity  wliich  I  was  under."  The  act  of  charity 
here  referred  to  we  venture  to  say  has  rarely  been  equalled,  and 
as  he  so  slightly  refers  to  it,  we  must  describe  it  more  in  detail. 
Strange  as  it  may  appear  at  this  date,  the  settlers  who  had  come 
from  the  Old  Colonies  to  several  parts  of  Nova  Scotia  had 
brought  with  them  slaves,  and  retained  them  as  such  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.""'  Among  others,  the  late  Matthew  Harris  was  the 
owner  of  a  coloured  girl,  who  afterwards  went  by  the  name  of 
Die  Mingo,  and  a  mulatto  man,  named  Martin.  The  question 
of  the  slave  trade  had  just  previously  to  the  Doctor's  leaving 
Scotland  begun  to  agitate  the  public  mind  of  Britain.  Pie  had 
entered  heart  and  soul  into  the  discussion,  and  now  when  an 
opportunity  was  afforded,  he  gave  practical  proof  of  his  benevo- 
lence and  love  of  freedom.  He  immediately  interested  himself 
to  secure  the  liberty  of  these  unfortunate  individuals,  and  for 
this  purpose  actually  agreed  to  pay  £50  for  the  freedom  of  Die. 
Of  the  £27  received  in  money  the  first  year,  £20  was  paid  to- 
ward this  object,  and  for  a  year  or  two,  a  large  portion  of  his 
produce  payments  went  to  pay  the  balance. 

The  poor  creature  was  extremely  grateful,  and  continued  till 
her  death  to  have  the  warmest  feelings  of  veneration  and  affec- 
tion for  him,  which  feelings  were  retained  by  her  family  after 
her.  She  was  afterward  married  to  George  Mingo,  also  a  col- 
oured person,  who  had  served  during  the  first  American  war. 
They  were  both  in  full  communion  with  the  congregation  of 
Pictou,  till  their  death,  and  esteemed  as  very  pious  persons, 
such  as  might  have  served  as  models  for  Uncle  Tom  and  Aunt 
Chloe.  They,  as  was  customary  at  that  time,  used  to  travel 
round  to  the  various  sacraments,  and  I  have  been  informed  by 
persons  now  old,  that  when  children,  though  black  people  were 
then  generally  despised,  yet  George  and  Die  every  where  com- 
manded respect.  She  died  some  years  ago,  and  the  late  Rev. 
*  See  Appendix  D. 


152  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

John  MacKinlay,  her  pastor,  used  to  state  that  he  had  attended 
the  deathbeds  of  but  few  persons,  from  whom  he  had  received 
more  satisfaction. 

By  the  Doctor's  influence,  Mr.  Harris  was  also  persuaded  to 
give  Martin  his  freedom  after  a  certain  term  of  good  service. 
He  afterward  married  a  woman  belonging  to  River  John,  of 
Swiss  descent,  and  removed  to  St.  Mary's  where  he  had  a 
family.  He  bore  an  excellent  character,  and  seemed  also  to 
have  profited  spiritually  by  the  Doctor's  instructions.  On  one 
of  his  missionary  excursions,  the  latter  was  afterwards  at  his 
house,  and  baptized  his  family.  He  subsequently  removed  to 
the  United  States. 

The  Doctor  also  relieved  a  woman  who  was  in  bondage  for  a 
term  of  years,  paying  some  nine  or  ten  pounds  for  her  freedom. 
He  also  paid  for  the  board  and  education  of  her  daughter,  but 
she  proved  a  worthless  character. 

Yet  with  that  freedom  from  ostentation  which  characterized 
him  in  all  his  good  deeds,  he  never  mentioned  the  circumstances 
to  any  of  his  friends  at  home,  except  barely  alluding  to  it  in  a 
letter  to  his  father.  One  of  his  relatives,  writing  to  him,  says, 
"  Your  father  is  at  a  loss,  you  did  not  signify  in  your  last  to 
him  your  end  for  giving  away  £20  for  some  people  in  hardship, 
nor  what  they  were  to  you.  He  wishes  to  know."  But  his 
good  friend,  Mr.  Buist,  having  obtained  intelligence  of  what 
he  had  done,  took  measures  to  give  it  publicity,  as  will  appear 
by  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  him  dated  March  18th 
1791. 

"  I  am  much  obliged  for  the  six  copies,*  but  you  were  not  so 
good  as  to  tell  me  you  had  freed  some  slaves,  but  Mr.  Fraser 
told  me  you  had  done  so  as  to  two.  I  got  Mr.  Elmsley  to  tea, 
he  did  not  know  of  this,  but  spoke  of  an  old  woman  very  use- 
ful among  the  sick.  I  thought  such  goodness  should  not  be 
concealed,  and  sent  to  the  Glasgoio  Advertiser,  and  had  in- 
serted the  following,  '  The  Rev.  Mr.  James  MacGregor,  Gaelic 
Missionary  from  the  Antiburgher  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  to 
*  Of  his  pamphlet  on  slavery. 


REV.    JAMES   MACQIIEGOR,   D.D.  153 

Pictou,  Nova  Scotia,  has  published  in  that  country  against  the 
slave  trade,  and  has  since  recommended  his  doctrine  by  a  noble 
and  disinterested  philanthropy,  in  his  devoting  a  part  of  his 
small  stipend  for  purchasing  the  liberty  of  some  slaves.  Such 
is  the  modesty  of  that  gentleman,  that  he  has  not  given  his 
friends  in  this  country  the  pleasure  of  this  news,  so  honourable 
to  his  society  and  to  the  Highland  emigrants  from  Scotland  ; 
but  authentic  information  is  received  that  he  has  purchased  and 
liberated  two  young  persons,  adding  to  the  favour  education  at 
school,  and  that  he  is  in  treaty  for  the  liberty  of  an  old  -woman, 
who  may  be  very  useful  as  a  nurse  to  the  sick.'  I  hope  I  have 
not  offended,  nor  will  I  beg  pardon  unless  I  have  sent  a  false 
account  or  misapprehension.  It  was  copied  in  the  newspapers 
through  Britain,  and  your  name  is  famous.  Luckily  it  appeared 
in  that  Glasgow  paper  that  the  resolutions  and  subscriptions 
by  David  Dale  for  £10  and  other  Glasgow  gentlemen  to  the 
amount  of  £170,  for  carrying  the  Bill  for  abolishing  the  slave 
trade  appeared,  and  was  just  placed  a  few  lines  before  their 
advertisement  requesting  others  to  subscribe.  I  have  virtually 
approved  your  book." 

The  letter  from  which  the  above  is  taken  has  the  following 
in  short  hand  on  the  back,  "  Received  this  on  the  31st  of  May, 
read  the  account  of  the  advertisement  with  trembling  and 
(sweat  ?)" 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  question  of  slavery  was  after- 
ward settled  in  Nova  Scotia  in  the  following  way.  Difficulties 
arose  in  an  action  of  trover  brought  for  the  recovery  of  a  run- 
away slave,  which  induced  the  opinion  that  the  courts  of  law 
would  not  recognize  a  state  of  slavery  as  having  a  lawful  exist- 
ence in  the  country,  and  although  this  question  never  received 
a  judicial  decision,  and  although  particular  clauses  of  some  of 
the  early  acts  of  the  Province  corroborate  the  idea  that  slaves 
might  be  held,  yet  the  slaves  were  all  emancipated.* 

As  we  have  referred  to  the  subject  of  slavery,  we  shall  here 
give  an  account  of  his  controversy  on  the  subject,  though  it 

*  Halliburton,  vol.  ii.  p.  280. 


154  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

did  not  take  place  till  the  following  year.  (1788).  At  the  time 
of  his  intercourse  with  the  Truro  brethren  on  the  subject  of 
union  already  referred  to,  he  learned  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cock 
had  been  the  owner  of  two  female  slaves,  a  mother  and  daugh- 
ter. We  have  been  informed  that  he  obtained  the  mother  as  a 
gift  from  a  person  in  Cornwallis,  when  on  a  visit  there.  At  all 
events  he  afterwards  sold  her  in  consequence  of  her  unruly 
conduct.  The  daughter  he  seems  to  have  obtained  by  pur- 
chase. There  is  no  evidence  that  Mr.  Cock  treated  either  of 
them  otherwise  than  with  Christian  kindness.  Indeed  such 
was  his  gentleness  of  disposition,  that  it  could  not  be  otherwise. 
But  to  the  Doctor,  fired  with  the  controversy  then  agitating 
Britain  on  the  slave  trade,  the  very  idea  of  a  minister  of  Christ 
retaining  one  of  his  fellow  beings  in  bondage  was  revolting, 
and  he  made  this  a  special  ground  of  refusing  all  communion 
with  a  Presbytery,  which  tolerated  such  conduct  in  one  of  its 
members.  He  also  addressed  to  Mr.  Cock  a  long  and  severe 
letter  on  the  subject.  Though  called  a  letter  it  was  more  like 
a  pamphlet.  This  was  received  with  a  sort  of  bewildering  sur- 
prise. Immediately  after  perusing  it,  Mr.  Cock  took  it  over  to 
a  friend,  one  of  the  Archibalds,  who  had  also  a  slave.  What 
was  the  result  of  their  joint  deliberations  we  know  not.  But 
in  a  short  time  they  were  still  more  astonished  by  the  appear- 
ance in  print  of  a  similar  letter  entitled,  "  Letter  to  a  clergy- 
man, urging  him  to  set  free  a  black  girl  he  held  in  slavery." 
This  publication  excited  great  attention.  The  members  of  the 
Truro  Presbytery  were  very  indignant,  as  well  as  many  of  their 
friends,*  but  many  throughout  Colchester  not  only  read  it  with 
deep  interest,  but  cordially  approved  of  its  contents. 

We  have  published  this  letter  among  his  remains  as  we  are 
certain  that  it  will  be  read  with  interest,  not  only  for  its  sub- 
ject matter,  but  also  for  its  style  and  as  a  curiosity  of  the  times. 
The  spirit  of  this  production  will  doubtless  be  regarded  as  defi- 

*  On  one  occasion  the  Rov.  James  Monroe  coming  in  among  the  brethren 
with  a  few  copies  in  his  pocket,  and  letting  them  know  what  they  were,  had 
bis  coat  tail  torn  iu  a  scramble  for  them. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  155 

cient  in  Christian  charity  even  by  many  who  approve  of  its 
principles.  Indeed  it  presents  a  remarkable  contrast  to  that 
gentleness  of  spirit  which  characterized  his  later  years,  and 
must  be  taken  as  exhibiting  the  fervour  of  youthful  feeling. 
In  his  subsequent  letters  he  explains,  that  his  strong  langunge 
was  meant  to  apply  to  the  acts  of  buying  and  selling  our  fel- 
low men,  and  not  to  Mr.  Cock  personally,  and  that  in  what  he 
had  said  he  did  not  refer  to  his  motives.  Whatever  may  be 
said  of  the  spirit  of  this  production,  we  venture  to  say  as  to  its 
matter,  that  it  contains,  in  a  clear  and  forcible  style,  a  thorough 
discussion  of  the  principles  at  issue.  Though  other  writers 
may  have  supplied  many  additional  facts  regarding  the  nature 
and  workings  of  slavery,  there  is  very  little  to  be  added  upon  the 
Scriptural  question.  It  may  indeed,  be  objected,  that  he  con- 
founds slave  trading  and  slave  holding,  but  both  involve  the 
same  principles. 

Mr.  Cock  was  a  man  of  very  mild  temper,  and  sat  quietly 
under  the  castigation  he  received,  but  the  Rev.  David  Smith, 
of  Londonderry,  being  of  a  more  pugnacious  turn  of  mind, 
took  up  the  cudgels,  and  several  communications  passed  be- 
tween them.  The  most  of  this  correspondence  has  perished, 
but  we  have  in  our  possession  two  long  communications  of  Mr. 
Smith's  containing  a  full  exhibition  of  his  views.  We  may 
give  a  summary  of  his  arguments.  Indeed  they  are  just  such 
as  are  commonly  urged  by  the  friends  of  slavery  in  every  age. 
The  following  are  the  principal — that  the  relation  of  master 
and  bond  servant  implied  no  such  power  on  the  part  of  the 
master  over  his  slaves,  as  over  his  cattle,  but  that  tliey  were 
merely  in  the  situation  of  indentured  servants,  and  that  all 
that  those  who  purchased  them  did,  was  to  secure  a  title  to  their 
services  in  lawful  commands  for  life,  coupled  with  an  obliga- 
tion to  instruct  them  in  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion — 
that  the  slaves  h;id  been  originally  sold  by  public  authoi-ity  in 
the  states  from  which  they  came,  having  duly  forfeited  their 
liberty — that  Abraham  had  servants  born  in  his  house  and 
bought  with   his   money — that   there  were  slaves  in   the  early 


156  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

Christian  Church,  as  appears  from  Paul's  directions  to  masters 
and  servants  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Ephesians  and  Colossians, 
from  Paul's  directions  to  Timothy,!  Epis.  vi.  1,  2,  and  also  from 
1  Cor.  vii.  20,  21 — that  Paul  sent  back  Onesimus  a  runaway 
slave  to  Philemon  his  master — that  the  relation  is  of  the  same 
kind  as  parent  and  child,  master  and  servant,  ruler  and  subject, 
and  that  cruelties  inflicted  in  particular  instances,  did  not  aruue 
aj^ainst  the  relation  in  one  case  more  than  in  the  other — and 
that  the  immediate  emancipation  of  slaves  would  be  for  their 
injury  rather  than  their  good. 

In  reference  to  this  particular  case,  he  argues  that  Mr.  Cock, 
so  far  from  being  guilty  of  any  ill  usage  of  his  slave,  treated 
her  in  the  most  Christian  manner.     "We  give  his  statement  : 

"  I  can  assure  you  that  Mr.  Cock's  girl  never  was  nor  is  still  wanted 
bv  him  as  a  slave  in  the  sense  you  understand  it,  but  merely  as  a  bond  or 
indentured  servant,  and  from  the  very  first  time  he  got  her  and  her  mo- 
ther, lie  from  time  to  time  told  me  and  many  others,  that  he  had  no  inten- 
tion of  always  detaining-  them,  if  they  behaved  themselves  well.  And 
to  my  own  knowledge,  they  were,  and  his  girl  still  is,  more  tenderly  dealt 
with,  than  the  most  of  hired  servants  in  tiiese  parts. 

"  Notwithstanding  your  confident  assertions,  I  see  no  inconsistency  in 
vour  Rev.  Brother's  (Mr.  C.)  having  ground  to  say,  'He  hatli  not  shunned 
to  declare  all  the  counsel  of  God,'  and  as  a  Christian  discharged  his 
duty  to  his  fellow  creatures  as  faithfully  as  he  could,  and  at  the  same  time 
retaining  his  bondservant;  fori  charitably  hope  that  he  is  far  from  at- 
tempting to  lord  it  over  her  conscience,  hut  endeavours  to  instruct  her  in 
the  same  manner  as  he  doth  his  own  children,  having  given  and  daily 
giving  lier  the  same  opportunities  with  the  rest  of  his  family  both  as  to  tiie 
more  private  and  public  means  of  instruction.  And  if  all  tliat  keep  bond 
servants  had  been  or  were  disposed  to  treat  tliem  in  the  same  manner  that 
he  hath  done  his — they  would  have  reason  to  esteem  it  a  happy  ])riviloge, 
that  ever  they  came  under  the  direction  and  protection  of  such  masters. 
What  baleful  inflaence  his  example  hath  liad  or  may  have  upon  others  I 
cannot  see. 

"  Wiidt  were  his  motives  or  reasons  for  disposing  of  the  girl's  motlier, 
he  best  knowcth,  but  as  far  as  1  can  learn  she  turned  so  unruly,  sullen, 
and  stubborn,  as  to  threaten  to  put  hands  on  her  own  life,  in  which  case 
she  certainly  forfeited  her  liberty,  and  so  he  disposed  of  her  to  another, 
who  had  been  more  accustomed  to  the  management  of  such  ;  and  though 
she  attained  to  enjoy  a  licentious  liberty,  as  the  event  verified,  yet  she 
again  made  a  desperate  attempt  both  on  her   own  lite  and   the  life   of  tlie 


REV.    JAMES    3IACGREG0R,    D.D.  167 

fruit  of  her  womb,  which  laid  her  new  master  under  the  necessity  of  con- 
fining her  more  than  ever." 

Mr.  Smith  also  shows  considerable  adroitness,  though  not 
always  fairness,  in  catching  at  particular  statements  and  expres- 
sions in  the  Doctor's  letter,  as  lor  example,  when  the  latter  sol- 
emnly charged  IMr.  Cock  to  liberate  his  slave,  because  till  he 
did  so,  none  of  his  services  could  be  acceptable  to  God,  he 
(  31r.  S)  represents  this  as  teaching  the  doctrine  of  securing 
acceptance  with  God  by  our  own  good  works.  The  following 
specimen  of  his  argumentation  is  of  a  similar  character.  ''Did 
not  your  own  conduct  in  purchasing  a  negro  girl  make  you  as 
deeply  guilty  as  the  llev.  Mr.  Cock  ?  It  is  in  vain  to  plead,  you 
purchased  her  freedom,  for  if  it  was  such  a  heinous  sin  in 
Mr.  Harris  to  keep  her;  is  it  not  as  heinous  a  crime  in  you  to 
pay  for  her  freedom  ?  According  to  your  principles  her  price 
is  the  wages  of  iniquity,  and  surely  the  giver  is  as  deeply  guilty 
as  the  receiver." 

He  also  complains  much  of  the  bitter  spirit  of  the  Doctor's 
letter,  and  accuses  him  of  "  exciting  a  spirit  of  faction  and  party, 
respecting  such  things  as  neither  directly  respect  the  faith  and 
practice  of  the  church."  He  also  indulges  in  personal  recrim- 
ination, which  we  need  not  farther  notice. 

We  have  given  the  facts  on  this  subject,  so  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  gather  them,  as  from  the  prominence  which  the 
affair  had  in  his  life  at  that  time,  it  could  not  be  omitted,  and 
because  we  regard  it  as  a  curious  episode  in  the  history  of  the 
Province.  We  have  done  so  with  no  feelings  against  the  other 
party  concerned.  Mr.  Cock  was  undoubtedly  a  good  man,  and 
acted  on  his  light,  and  when  we  consider  the  large  number  of 
excellent  men,  who  even  in  the  present  day  defend  slavery,  we 
need  not  wonder,  that  a  minister  at  that  time  should  have  fol- 
lowed a  practice,  the  wrongfulness  of  which  had  only  begun  to 
be  exposed.  The  girl  who  from  that  date  was  commonly  called 
Deal  MacGregor,  in  consequence  of  the  Doctor's  speaking  of  her 
in  his  letter  as  his  sister,  continued  with  Mr.  Cock  as  long  as 

he  lived.     It  is  commonly  said  by  those  who  knew  the  facts  of 
U 


158  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  case,  tlmt  it  had  been  well  for  his  family,  if  she  had  never 
been  admitted  into  it. 

The  subjects  we  have  now  been  discussing  have  carried  us 
ahead  of  his  narrative.     We  therefore  return  to  it. 

"  As  soon  as  the  meeting-houses  were  built,  the  people  set 
themselves  to  make  roads  to  them,  that  they  might  be  as  acces- 
sible as  possible  by  land.  But  these  roads  were  nothing  more 
than  very  narrow  openings  through  the  woods,  by  cutting  down 
the  bushes  and  trees  that  lay  in  their  line  of  direction,  and  laying 
logs,  with  the  upper  side  hewed,  along  swampy  places  and  over 
brooks,  which  could  not  be  passed  dry,  by  way  of  bridge.  The 
stumps  and  roots,  the  heights  and  hollows,  were  left  as  they 
had  been.  The  chief  advantage  of  this  was,  that  it  prevented 
people  from  going  astray  in  the  woods.  During  winter,  the 
roads  and  meeting-houses  both  were  totally  useless  ;  for  the 
preaching  was  in  dwelling-houses,  with  fire. 

*'  I  followed  the  same  plan  this  winter  that  I  did  the  winter 
before  ;  I  took  the  opportunity  of  visiting  and  examining,  and 
did  so  with  much  the  same  success,  for  with  many  an  evident 
progress  was  discernible.  As  I  went  round  from  river  to  rivef; 
I  saw  much  diligence  in  attending  public  ordinances;  many  ta- 
king pleasure  in  religious  conversation,  and  numbers  under 
great  anxiety  about  the  state  of  their  souls ;  but  numbers  were 
also  careless  and  ignorant,  and  not  a  few  were  irritated. 

"  When  summer  arrived,  I  had  to  set  my  face  to  the  dispen- 
sation of  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper,  without  an  assistant. 
The  best  members  of  my  congregation  were  willing  to  have  the 
assistance  of  one  or  both  of  the  Colchester  ministers,  but  I 
could  not  get  over  my  scruples  to  invite  them,  and  happy  was 
it  for  me  that  they  (the  congregation)  were  so  temperate.  It 
was  no  small  grief  to  me  that  I  could  not  accept  of  the  assis- 
tance of  my  brethren,  but,  except  to  a  few  individuals  who  were 
previously  irritated,  it  caused  no  oifence  in  the  congregation. 
They  were  more  sorry  for  my  own  fatigue  than  for  any  thing 
else. 

"The  session   appointed  the   sacrament  to  be  dispensed   on 


REV.    JAMKS    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  159 

the  27th  of  July,  a  little  above  the  head  of  the  tide  on  the 
^lidille  River,  the  most  central  place  that  could  be  found.  It 
was  ;i  beautiful  green  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  sheltered 
liv  a  lofty  wood  and  winding  bank.  There,  in  the  open  air, 
ihi!  holy  Supper  was  administered  annually,  as  long  as  I  was 
alone.  Though  it  is  thirty  years  since  its  last  administration 
tiiere,  I  never  see  the  place  without  an  awful  and  delightful 
r^'cdllection  of  the  religious  exercises  of  my  youth,  and  of  my 
young  congregation,  when,  if  I  mistake  not,  we  had  happier 
communion  with  God  than  now,  when  our  worldly  enjoyments 
are  ten  times  greater.  Jer.  ii.  2,  '  Go  and  cry  in  the  ears 
of  Jerusalem,  saying.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  remember  thee, 
the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love  of  thine  espousals,  when 
thou  wentest  after  me  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  land  that  was  not 
sown.' 

"  The  day  for  dispensing  the  sacrament  was  published  five 
weeks  beforehand,  that  there  might  be  sufficient  time  for  exam- 
ining intending  communicants ;  and  they  were  all  particularly 
examined.  It  was  agreed  that  the  preceding  Thursday  should 
be  observed  as  a  day  of  public  humiliation  and  prayer  for  prepa- 
ration ;  and  that  the  English  should  be  first  this  year,  and  the 
Gaelic  the  next  year,  and  so  on  alternately.  On  the  humilia- 
tion-day I  earnestly  exhorted  the  congregation  to  examine  them- 
selves impartially  and  thoroughly,  to  renounce  hypocrisy  and 
self-righteousness,  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  them  in 
the  gospel,  and  implore  the  gracious  and  merciful  presence  of 
God  on  the  ensuing  occasion,  as  I  was  a  young  and  inexperi- 
enced minister,  and  the  most  of  them  were  to  be  young  and  in- 
experienced communicants;  and  the  first  dispensation  of  the 
sacrament  might  have  lasting  effects  of  good  or  evil.  I  preached 
first  in  English,  then  in  Gaelic,  on  the  Thursday,  the  Saturday, 
and  the  Monday.  On  Sabbath  I  preached  tlie  action-sermon, 
fenced  the  tables,  consecrated  the  elements,  and  served  the  first 
two  tables  in  English,  at  which  all  the  English  communicants 
sat.  The  singing  in  English  continued  till  all  the  Highlanders, 
who  were  waiting,  filled  the  table.     I  then  served  two  tables, 


160  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

gave  directions,  and  preached  the  evening  sermon  in  Gaelic. 
The  work  of  the  day  was  pretty  equally  divided  between  the 
two  languages.  But  the  Highlanders  wanted  the  action-sermon, 
and  the  Lowlanders  the  evening  sermon.  This,  however,  could 
not  be  helped,  but  the  want  was  partly  supplied  by  previous 
instructions  and  directions. 

"This  was  the  first  sacred  Supper  dispensed  in  Pictou ;  and 
though  some,  no  doubt,  communicated  unworthily,  yet  1  trust 
that  a  great  majority  were  worthy.  There  have  been  some  in- 
stances of  apostasy,  but  they  are  few.  Four-fifths  of  them 
have  given  in  their  account  to  the  great  Judge,  and  I  hope  few 
of  them  made  shipwreck  of  faith  ;  many  of  them  adorned  their 
profession,  living  and  dying.  The  number  of  communicants 
was  one  hundred  and  thirty,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  two 
were  heads  of  families,  ten  widowers  and  widows,  living  with 
their  children,  eight  unmarried  men,  and  ten  strangers  from 
Merigomish." 

We  shall  speak  more  particularly  hereafter  of  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Supper  in  the  early  years  of  his  ministry.  It  may 
be  interesting  to  add  here  such  an  account  as  we  can  give  of 
the  discourses  preached  on  the  occasion.  For  several  Sabbaths 
previous  he  preached  with  reference  to  the  observance  of  the 
Institution.  The  following  are  some  of  the  subjects  :  on  June 
14th,  1  Cor.  X.  16,  "The  cup  of  blessing  which  we  bless,  is 
it  not  the  communion  of  the  blood  of  Christ  ?"  1  Cor.  x. 
17 — 26:  on  June  28th,  1  Cor.  v.  6,  7,  8.  Two  discourses; 
July  5th,  1  Cor.  xi.  28,  '"'But  let  a  man  examine  himself  and 
so  let  him  eat  of  this  bread  and  drink  of  this  cup  :"  and  Psal. 
XV. ;  on  July  12,  1  Cor.  11-28,— Psal.  xxvi.  1-7.  On  the 
Saturday  previous  to  the  dispensation  of  the  ordinance  he 
preached  on  Josh.  iii.  5,  "Sanctify  yourselves;  for  to-morrow 
the  Lord  will  do  wonders  among  you;"  and  on  Psal.  x.  17, 
"  He  will  prepare  your  heart."  His  action  sermon  was  on 
Song  ii.  16,  "  My  beloved  is  mine  and  I  am  his;"  and  on  tlie 
evening  of  Sabbath  his  text  was  Psal.  cxvi.  P2,  "  What  shall  I  ren- 
der unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits  toward  me  ?"     We  find  a 


REV.    JAMES   MACGKEOOR,    D.D.  161 

sermon  on  Luke  vi.  40,  "■  The  disciple  is  not  above  his  master, 
but  every  one  that  is  perfect  shall  be  as  his  master,"  marked, 
*'  intended  for  Monday ;"  while  on  the  Sabbath  succeeding  he 
preached  on  Fsal.  cxvi.  18,  "  I  will  pay  my  vows  unto  the 
JiOrd,  now  in  the  presence  of  all  his  people,"  and  lectured  on 
verses  12 — 19  of  the  siime  Psalm.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  oc- 
cupied much  time  and  labour  in  preparatory  discourses.  More 
of  tliis  was  necessary,  than  would  have  otherwise  been,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  preaching  being  in  different  places,  and  it  being 
requisite  on  each  day  to  have  one  sermon  in  English  and  one 
in  Gaelic.  We  shall  give  an  outline  of  one  of  his  Saturday 
sermons,  and  of  his  action-sermon  : — 

"Josh.  iii.  5. — Sanctify  yourselves,  for  to-morrow  the  Lord  will  do  won- 
ders among  you." 

"  I.  Of  the  wonders  which  God  will  do. 

1.  lie  will  let  you  see  the  evil  of  sin.  Christ  the  beloved  Son  of  God 
was  brought  by  it  to  death.  This  was  done  by  your  thoughts,  words,  and 
actions.  If  you  can  understand  the  whole  sufferings  of  Christ,  you  may 
understand  all  the  evil  and  all  the  desert  of  sin. 

2.  He  will  show  the  severity  of  God's  justice.  He  would  not  be  satis- 
fied with  thirty-three  years'  obedience.  He  required  all  the  sufferings  of 
his  soul  till  his  body  was  broken.  "  Awake,  O  Sword,  &,c."  God  loved 
him  and  was  gracious  to  him,  but  that  would  not  do.  What  will  become 
of  self-flattering  sinners  ? 

3.  The  love  of  God  :  of  the  Father  in  giving  his  Son  whom  he  infinitely 
loved  to  be  broken  for  us,  and  the  Son  in  suffering  for  us,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  coming  into  sucli  hellish  hearts  to  prepare  us  for  eating  the  bro- 
ken body  of  Christ. 

4.  The  virtue  of  Christ's  blood,  to  take  away  the  guilt  of  sin,  to  give 
peace  to  the  conscience,  in  spite  of  sin  and  hell,  to  purify  the  heart,  to 
strengthen  it  for  God's  service,  to  fill  it  with  the  joy  and  peace  of  believ- 
ing, to  prevent  our  fears  and  exceed  our  hopes,  to  feed  our  souls. 

II.  Of  our  sanclification. 

1.  This  says  that  we  should  understand  something  of  God's  holiness. 
He  is  so  holy  that  he  cannot  keep  communion  with  sinners — that  the  an- 
gels cover  their  faces,  and  that  no  unclean  thing  is  meet  to  come  before 
him. 

2.  That  wc  are  sensible  of  our  unholiness,  our  original  and  actual 
transgressions,  and  that  by  these  we  are  altogether  as  an  unclean  thing,  a 
lump  of  hell. 

3.  That  we  are  to  depend  on  the  Spirit  for  sanctification.  We  cannot 
sanctify  ourselves.     The  Spirit  is  promised  to  sanctify  us,  and  there  is 

14* 


162  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

influence  in  Clirist's  blood  to  sanctify  us,  and  we  must  apply  to  this  in  the 
diligent  use  of  moans. 

4.  We  are  to  retire  from  the  world,  and  to  examine  our  hearts,  that  we 
may  part  with  whatever  displeases  a  holy  God,  and  that  we  may  get  a 
suitable  frame  of  spirit  to  attend  upon  him.  We  are  to  cast  out  pride,  the 
world,  unbelief,  malice,  and  vain  thoughts.  We  are  to  be  in  a  humble, 
spiritual,  fixed,  loving,  lively  frame. 

III.  Of  the  reasons  of  it. 

1.  Because  of  the  deceit  of  our  hearts,  which  would  outwit  us  if  we  are 
not  diligent,  '  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things.' 

2.  God's  jealousy  for  his  holiness.  He  would  break  forth  upon  us.  Ex. 
xix.  l!i,  21,  24. 

3.  Because  God  delights  himself  in  tliein  that  are  sanctified.  Psa.  Ixxxvi. 
2.     '  Holiness  becomes  God's  house.'" 

Outline  of  action  sermon  on  Song  ii.  IG.  "  My  beloved  is 
mine  and  I  am  his." 

"  I.   My  beloved  is  mine. 

1.  His  righteousness  is  mine  to  pardon  my  sins,  and  make  me  be  ac- 
counted as  righteous  in  God's  sight,  Jcr.  xxiii.  6;  2  Cor.  v.  21.  From 
blackness  of  hell  he  will  make  me  fair  as  heaven.   Isa.  Ixi.  10. 

2.  All  his  gracious  promises  are  mine  to  quicken,  sanctify,  and  save 
me.  Faith  puts  all  the  jjromiscs  of  grace  in  my  possession,  and  then  all 
the  grace  in  the  promise  is  my  property.  Quickening  grace,  John  v.  25, 
reviving  grace,  Hos.  xiv.  7,  sanctifying  grace,  Ezek.  xxxvi.  25,  06,  saving 
grace,  Isa.  xlv.  17,  grace  to  overcome  sin,  Satan,  and  the  world,  2  Cor.  ix, 
8;  Phil.  iv.  19. 

3.  His  Father  is  mine,  John  xx.  17,  to  pity  me,  Psa.  ciii.  13,  14,  to  pro- 
tect me,  Jer.  iii.  4,  to  aceomplisli  all  the  promises  of  the  covenant  of  grace, 
Psa.  Ixxxix.  4;  John  xvi.  27,  to  be  my  portion  for  ever,  Psa.  Ixxiii. 

4.  His  Spirit  is  mine,  Rom.  viii.  9,  to  teach  me  to  pray,  Rom.  viii.  2(i, 
27,  to  give  me  knowledge,  Eph.  i.  17,  to  sanctify  me,  2  Thess.  ii.  13,  to 
apply  a  complete  redemption  to  me,  John  xvi.  14. 

5.  My  beloved's  person  is  mine,  and  all  that  he  hnth  is  mine.  He  is 
mine  as  God,  and  mine  as  Mediator;  his  divine  perfections  are  mine,  as 
power,  wisdom,  and  holiness.  The  obedience  and  sufferings  of  tlie  hu- 
man nature  are  mine,  to  free  me  from  the  wrath  to  come.  As  Mediator  he 
is  mine,  to  be  my  example  to  which  I  must  strive  to  be  more  and  more 
conformed,  and  to  be  mine  eternal  portion. 

II.  And  I  am  his. 

1.  All  my  sins  are  his,  Isa.  liii.  fi,  my  original  sin  and  all  my  actual 
sins  are  his  by  imputation,  1  Pet.  ii.  24,  and  so  the  punishment  of  them 
is  his,  Isa.  liii.  4,  5 ;  1  Pet.  iii.  18.     My  unworthy  communicating  is  his. 

2.  All  my  sins,  and  infirmities,  and  failings,  and  afflictions,  in  a  state  of 
grace,  are  his.  When  I  was  nothing  to  him  he  took  me  and  all  my  faults, 
Hos.  ii.  19,  20  ;  Psa.  xcix.  8. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  163 

3.  All  my  graces  are  his,  for  they  are  from  him  and  shall  be  to  him.  1 
Cor.  XV.  10.  'By  the  grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am.'  My  fuith  glorifies 
tlie  truth  and  faithfulness  of  his  promise,  my  love  is  the  reflection  of  his, 
all  my  humility  is  the  reflection  of  his  condescension,  and  my  patience  the 
eflfort  of  his  strength,  2  Cor.  xii.  9. 

4.  My  person,  and  my  abiUty,  and  my  talents,  and  all  that  I  have  and 
can  do  are  his  for  ever,  1  Cor.  vi.  19,  20;  Matt.  x.  37,  38;  Isa.  vi.  8: 
Psa.  cxvi.  16. 

Hence  see  :  1.  That  persons  need  to  look  what  they  are  doing,  wlicn 
they  take  and  profess  our  religion.  They  then  give  themselves  away.  Matt. 
X.  39. 

2.  What  is  the  proper  work  for  a  communion  Sabbath,  to  be  saying, 
*  My  beloved  is  mine  and  I  am  his.'  God  is  for  him  in  his  soul.  Give 
you  yourselves  to  him  in  your  soul. 

3.  What  will  make  us  worthy  communicants.  Christ  is  the  fountain 
of  grace.     Go  to  him  for  all  that  you  need. 

4.  How  foolish  they  are  who  despise  Christ.  'All  that  hate  me  love 
death.'     They  lose  the  best  jewels  that  exist  for  nothing." 


164  MEMOIR  OP  THE 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THIRD  AND  FOURTH  YEARS'  LABOURS. — 1788 — 1790. 

"Beware  of  men  ;  for  they  vrill  deliver  you  up  to  the  councils, — and  ye  shall 
be  brought  before  Governors  and  Kings  for  my  sake."     Matt.  x.  17,  18. 

**  Three  weeks  before  the  sacrament,  a  gentleman  from  Am- 
herst put  into  my  hand  a  petition,  craving  some  supply  of  ser- 
mon, subscribed  by  a  number  of  persons  there.  This  was  the 
first  notice  that  I  had  of  a  body  of  Presbyterians,  except  at 
jMerigomish,  anywhere  in  the  Province,  destitute,  and  wishing 
for  preaching.  I  laid  the  petition  before  the  session,  and  they 
appointed  me  to  preach  at  Amherst  on  the  second,  third,  and 
fourth  Sabbaths  of  August.  Amherst  being  one  hundred  miles 
off,  the  gentleman  wished  much  that  I  should  go  with  hira  im- 
mediately, but  this  could  not  be  granted,  as  the  sacrament  was 
given  out.  He  returned  and  took  me  to  Amherst  at  the  time 
appointed.  Going  through  Mr.  Smith's  congregation,  the  Chi- 
gatiois  people,  who  formed  part  of  it,  set  upon  me  to  give  them 
a  week-day  sermon  upon  my  return.  At  first  I  refused,  as  it 
might  be  ofi'ensive  to  Mr.  Smith  and  others;  but  they  plied  mc 
with  arguments,  so  that  I  had  to  yield.  They  said  that  they 
sought  nothing  but  the  gospel,  and  that  I  could  not  answer  to 
my  Master  for  refusing  to  preach  the  gospel  to  perishing  sin- 
ners. Not  wishing  to  appear  obstinate,  I  consented;  and,  ac- 
cordingly, on  my  return,  preached  there  to  a  small  congregation, 
happy  to  find  such  an  apparent  earnestness  for  the  gospel.  I 
found,  however,  that  considerable  alienation  from  tlieir  minister 
existed  in  the  congregation,  which  I  was  sorry  to  find  I  could 
do  little  to  remove. 

"After  leaving  Colchester,  we  had  to  go  through  fifty  miles 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  165 

of  woods  to  Amherst,  in  Cumberland,  'with  only  a  few  houses 
in  the  whole  distance.  Notliing  worth  mentioning  happened 
to  us  in  our  journey,  save  that  my  guide,  who  rode  a  high  horse, 
mired  hira  most  fearfully,  so  that  I  despaired  of  his  life.  After 
a  great  struggle  he  got  out,  but  I  would  not  suffer  my  beast  to 
follow  his  track  upon  any  account,  so  that  we  had  to  go  up 
through  the  woods  a  good  way,  searching  for  a  place  where  the 
mire  might  be  passed,  which,  at  last,  we  found,  and  returned 
down  the  other  side  till  we  found  the  horse. 

"When  I  came  fairly  in  sight  of  Amherst,  I  was  charmed 
with  the  view,  especially  of  its  marshes,  which  are  extensive, 
perfectly  level,  and,  to  appearance,  extremely  fertile.  After  a 
few  days  I  crossed  to  the  Westmoreland  side,  where  I  saw  the 
largest  of  the  marslies,  Tantraniar  :  it  is  the  largest  and  most 
beautiful  piece  of  level  land  which  I  ever  saw,  extending  about 
six  miles  in  breadth,  and  sixteen  in  length,  but  narrowing  Uiuch 
toward  the  northern  extremity.  Little  of  it  was  yet  mown,  but 
I  was  told  that  after  a  few  weeks  it  would  be  covered  with  thou- 
sands of  hay  ricks. 

"  The  settlers  of  Amherst  were  Presbyterians,  from  the  north 
of  Ireland,  who  had  emigrated  there  on  account  of  the  tithes  and 
other  taxes,  which  they  counted  oppressive.  They  got  excel- 
lent lots  of  land  at  Amherst,  on  which  they  could  live  well 
without  labour,  as  each  lot  had  a  good  portion  of  marsh  an- 
nexed to  it,  which  enabled  the  farmer  to  keep  a  good  dairy,  and 
to  manure  sufficiently  his  upland,  which  was  but  of  moderate 
quality.  They  were  a  pious,  intelligent  people,  who  much 
regretted  their  situation,  destitute  of  a  gospel  minister.  I 
preached  three  Sabbaths  to  them,  besides  some  week-day  ser- 
mons, visitations,  and  religious  conversations.  My  ministra- 
tions appeared  very  acceptable  to  them.  Before  I  left  them 
they  held  a  public  meeting,  at  whit-h  they  signed  a  petition  to 
the  Synod,  for  a  minister,  specifying  a  sum  for  his  maintenance  ; 
and  the  petition  they  committed  to  me  to  transmit  to  the  Synod. 
which  I  did. 

"  Here  I  saw  a  woman  who  had  been  bedfast  for  a  number 


16G  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

of  years,  and  who  was  on  the  borders  of  despair  aoout  tier  eter- 
nal salvation.  When  I  first  iivcnt  to  visit  her,  she  hid  herself 
umJer  the  bed  clotlies  and  would  not  speak.  I  asked  her  many 
questions,  but  got  no  answer.  At  last  I  said  some  outlandish 
thins:,  which  made  her  pop  out  her  head  and  speak.  She  was 
pale  and  emaciated,  and  her  countenance  the  picture  of  despair. 
She  spoke  freely,  and  described  her  case  plainly  and  particu- 
larly, and  showed  great  quickness  and  penetration  in  her  re- 
plies to  my  arguings.  Though  she  was  without  spot  before  the 
world,  yet  she  believed  herself  to  be  before  God,  who  sees  the 
heart,  the  most  guilty  and  the  vilest  being  that  ever  existed, 
shut  up  from  all  access  to  faith,  repentance,  or  hope,  and  sealed 
over  to  endless  ruin.  In  her  view,  the  sins  of  Saul,  David,  and 
Manasseh,  of  Peter,  Paul,  and  Judas,  were  not  at  all  equal  to 
hers.  She  saw  aggravations  in  her  sins,  which  could  not  exist 
in  those  of  Beelzebub.  I  had  a  most  lively  feeling  for  this  wo- 
man's distress,  but  could  not  help  her.  I  visited  her  as  often 
as  possible,  and  always  left  her  better,  but  always  found  her  on 
my  return  as  distressed  as  ever.  When  leaving  Amherst  I 
called  to  bid  her  farewell.  I  conversed  and  prayed  with  her, 
besought  her  and  charged  her  not  to  sin  against  her  own  soul, 
by  rejecting  an  infinitely  gracious  Saviour  and  all  his  blessings. 
A  gentleman  from  Amherst  accompanied  me  to  Colchester,  and 
I  made  the  rest  of  my  way  alone,  thinking  more  of  this  woman 
than  of  all  the  rest  in  Amherst. 

"  She  had  been  confined  five  years  before  I  saw  her,  and  it 
was  four  years  after  before  she  got  relief.  She  was  seven  years 
without  washing  her  face  but  once,  and  very  soon  after  she  be- 
daubed it  with  ashes,  that  her  face  might  not  belie  her  heart. 
During  the  next  five  years  I  went  back  to  Amherst  thrice,  and 
during  my  stay  there  two  of  the  times,  I  did  my  utmost  to 
comfort  her,  but  in  vain.  The  last  time  I  was  there  she  was 
happy.  When  God's  time  came  she  obtained  relief,  and  that 
without  any  human  means  but  her  own  reflection.  Several  ex- 
perienced Christians  in  Amherst  did  all  they  could  for  her  for 
some  years  at  first,  but  finding  their   labour  in  vain,  they  lost 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREaOR;   D.U.  167 

all  hope  of  her  relief  in  this  world.  One  morning,  as  hopeless 
as  ever,  she  was  recounting  in  her  thoughts  all  the  great  sin. 
ners  of  whom  she  had  read  in  the  Bible  and  in  the  liistories  of 
the  Church,  who  had  obtained  mercy,  and  concluding  as  usual 
that  she  was  a  greater  sinner  than  all,  when  a  thought  suddenly 
struck  her,  what  should  hinder  Christ  from  bestowing  upon  her 
one  great  pardon  far  exceeding  the  pardons  which  he  had  scat- 
tered over  the  whole  of  the  individuals  of  whom  she  had  been 
thinking  ?  Was  it  above  his  power,  or  his  love,  or  his  grace  ? 
No.  From  that  moment  she  saw  her  pardon  possible,  and  soon 
she  saw  it  probable,  and  soon  again  sure.  Shortly  after  she 
broke  her  arm,  and  not  being  rightly  set,  it  never  mended,  and 
was  often  attended  with  excruciating  pain,  which  she  bore  with 
great  patience.  She  was  to  the  last  a  cheerful  and  judicious 
Christian,  filled  with  joy  and  peace  of  believing, 

"  On  coming  home,  I  enclosed  the  Amherst  petition  in  a  let- 
ter to  the  Synod,  in  which  I  earnestly  urged  them  to  answer 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioners.  I  represented  that  the  Amherst 
Presbyterians  were  pious  and  intelligent  people,  and  substantial 
farmers;  and  though  they  were  not  numerous,  the  neighbour- 
hood was  populous,  and  without  ministers,  so  that  there  was 
good  reason  to  hope  that  a  minister  would  be  successful  among 
them.  I  now  entertained  hope  of  seeing  a  brother  in  the  min- 
istry before  long,  but  was  disappointed. 

"  Flaving  occasion  to  travel  hither  and  thither  through  the 
congregation,  several  friends  urged  me  to  buy  a  horse  and  ride. 
I  did  not  relish  the  proposal,  for  I  could  not  conceive  how  ri- 
ding could  be  a  pleasure  through  the  forests  of  Pictou  ;  and 
when  I  did  ride,  as  was  sometimes  the  case,  I  always  felt  more 
pain  than  in  walking.  But  they  replied,  that  if  I  were  used  to 
riding  a  while  I  would  like  it  better.  1  was  therefore  persua- 
ded, and  bought  a  horse,  and  rode  him  as  oft  as  I  could  for  nearly 
a  year  ;  but  still  I  had  more  pleasure  in  walking  than  riding, 
and  therefore  sold  the  horse  and  took  to  my  feet  again. 

•'  When  winter  came,  I  followed  the  same  plan  of  visitation 
and  examination,  as  well  as  preaching,  which  I  followed  before, 


168  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

and  found  the  work  specially  pleasant  but  very  fatiguing.  It 
was  very  pleasant,  for  though  I  visited  many  families  without 
religion,  yet  in  many  others  I  had  sweet  fellowship,  conversing 
of  our  faith  and  unbelief,  our  joys  and  griefs,  our  hopes  and 
fears,  our  trials  and  deliverances,  and  the  wonderful  and  gra- 
cious managements  of  God  in  leading  our  souls  onward  in  our 
heavenly  course.  Our  conversation  was  in  heaven,  at  least  in 
part;  and,  without  (|uestion,  we  enjoyed  a  little  heaven  below. 
But  it  was  very  fatiguing,  for  the  bounds  of  the  congregation 
were  gradually  enlarging.  Pious  Highland  families  in  other 
parts  of  the  Province,  finding  that  the  gospel  was  preached  in 
the  Gaelic  in  Pictou,  disposed  of  their  places,  and  came  there 
to  settle.  These,  with  other  emigrants,  settled  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  congregation,  but  as  they  chose  the  best  of  the  land,  they 
frequently  left  large  pieces  of  the  more  barren  land  behind 
them  unsettled,  all  which  T  had  to  travel  over  every  time  I 
went  to  see  them.  This  continual  extension  of  the  congrega- 
tion soon  rendered  the  visitation  of  it  impossible. 

"  We  had  an  addition  of  forty-eight  communicants  this  year 
(1789),  and  three  more  strangers  from  Merigomish.  There 
had  been  a  continual  strife  between  William  MacKay  and  Colin 
MacKay,  two  neighbours  and  relations,  on  account  of  which 
they  were  both  refused  admission  to  the  Lord's  Supper  last 
year.  Colin  made  acknowledgments  now  satisfactory  to  the 
session,  but  William  would  make  none.  The  consequence  was, 
that  Colin  was  admitted  and  William  not,  which  irritated  him 
greatly.  Had  I  known  of  this  strife  at  first,  it  would  have  been 
an  increase  to  my  trials,  as  I  boarded  with  William.  I  found 
it  necessary  now  to  change  my  lodgings,  which  a  kind  Provi- 
dence enabled  me  to  do,  as  Donald  MacKay,  the  elder,  had  newly 
built  a  house,  with  a  room  on  purpose  for  my  accommodation, 
where  I  lodged  till  I  got  a  house  of  my  own.  I  made  many 
efforts  in  private,  both  by  myself  and  others,  to  reconcile  these 
two  men,  but  wholly  in  vain,  on  account  of  the  lofty  and  obsti- 
nate teujper  of  William  MacKay.  Finding  himself  excluded 
from  Church  privileges,  he  commenced  as  violent  a  persecution 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREGOR,    D.D.  169 

of  the  Church  as  lay  in  his  power.  He  thought  he  could  do 
great  tilings,  but  he  did  very  little,  for  very  i'ow  even  of  our 
enemies  would  unite  with  him.  lie  slandered  all  good  men, 
but  especially  the  elders  and  nic.  I  owed  him  a  year's  board  at 
leaving  his  house,  and  though  I  offered  to  pay  him,  as  I  did  the 
previous  year,  he  would  come  to  no  terms  but  such  as  the 
law  would  settle.  As  I  had  to  go  to  Amherst  again,  he  con- 
trived to  take  me  prisoner  in  Truro,  as  if  I  were  an  abscond- 
ing debtor.  Being  in  the  house  of  old  Major  Archibald,  the 
sheriff  came  in  and  very  sheepishly  told  me  that  he  was  obliged 
to  take  me  prisoner.  I  told  him  I  had  no  intention  of  running 
away.  He  said  he  would  be  my  bail  himself.  Major  Archi- 
bald said,  "  You  need  not,  I  will  be  it,  and  in  due  form,  if  you 
please."  The  silting  of  the  court  at  Onslow  (a  few  miles  be- 
yond Truro)  exactly  suited  the  time  of  my  return  from  Amherst, 
and  the  trial  came  on  in  less  than  an  hour  after  I  arrived  at 
the  court-house.  I  feed  no  lawyer,  and  summoned  no  witness, 
but  showed  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  that  the  case  was 
wholly  a  litigious  one,  as  I  had  offered  to  pay  liim  before  com- 
ing there.  The  jury  gave  him  the  same  sum  for  my  board  which 
I  had  given  him  for  the  year  before ;  but,  most  of  them  know- 
ing that  I  had  been  at  Amherst  nearly  a  month,  they  allowed 
him  only  eleven  months'  board  of  the  year,  and  laid  on  him  the 
costs  of  the  suit,  amounting  to  about  £20.  I  could  not  but  ob- 
serve the  kindness  of  Providence  in  this  suit.  It  did  not 
cost  me  a  farthing,  and  it  did  not  detain  me  two  hours  on  my 
journey. 

"  He  was  greatly  irritated,  and  vowed  revenge,  if  possible. 
I  happened  to  afford  him,  as  he  thought,  a  fair  opportunity,  by 
giving  hira  a  character  not  suiting  a  good  man.  He  sued  me 
for  £500  before  the  Supreme  Court  in  Halifax,  for  he  would 
not  trust  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  As  I  could  not  conve- 
niently attend  the  first  term  of  the  court,  I  had  to  fee  an  attor- 
ney to  put  off  the  trial  till  the  next  term,  at  which  I  attended 
with  two  witnesses  sufiiciently  able  to  prove  all  that  I  had  al- 
leged. But,  to  my  great  disappointment,  I  found  that  the 
15 


170  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

plaintifF  had  the  privilege  of  putting  it  off  to  a  third  term, 
wliicli  he  did;  so  that  I  and  my  witnesses  had  our  labour  for 
our  pains.  Thus  disappointed,  I  resolved  to  take  no  more 
trouble  about  it,  but  let  it  take  its  course.  Accordingly  it  was 
tried  next  term,  without  any  evidence  on  my  part,  and  I  was 
cast  in  20s.,  and  the  costs  of  suit,  wliich  amounted  to  £15  or 
£20 — a  sum  which  served  as  friendly  advice  to  me  to  .«peak 
cautiously,  and  cheaper  than  could  have  been  expected.  T!ie 
sum  which  the  plaiutiflF  obtained  made  him  a  laughing-stock, 
and  mortified  him  luucli  more  than  if  he  had  got  nothing 
at  all." 

Wm.  MacKay  was  at  strife,  not  only  with  Colin,  but  he  had 
at  the  same  time  a  quarrel  with  his  neighbour  on  the  other  side, 
one  Donald  Cameron,  a  lloman  Catholic.  The  Session  by 
great  eflForts  succeeded  in  bringing  William  and  Colin  to  some- 
thing like  terms  of  reconciliation,  but  when  this  was  done,  the 
Doctor  said  to  the  former,  "  Now  you  ought  to  try  and  be  on 
friendly  terms  with  your  other  neighbour."  The  proposal  put 
him  in  great  wrath,  and  he  exclaimed,  "  Would  you  have  me 
agree  with  a  Papist  ?"  The  Doctor  began  to  reason  with  him 
on  the  propriety  of  his  doing  so,  urging  that  the  latter  was 
alone  among  them,  there  being  none  of  his  persuasion  near — 
that  they  ought  to  be  kind  to  him,  as  it  might  have  a  beneficial 
effect  upon  his  mind — that  he  had  already  begun  to  attend 
preaching,  and  that  by  continuing  to  treat  him  kindly,  they  did 
not  know  what  saving  results  might  follow.  The  more  he 
reasoned  in  this  way,  the  more  angry  MacKay  became,  ac- 
cusing the  Doctor  of  endeavouring  to  lead  him  astray,  when 
he  would  have  him  to  be  at  peace  with  a  Papist,  and  at  length 
ordering  them  out  of  the  house. 

In  pleading  his  cause  before  the  court  at  Onslow,  he  was  said 
to  have  been  very  severe  upon  all  connected  with  the  prosecu- 
tion, among  other  things  quoting  and  commenting  on  the  pas- 
sage, "  Touch  not  mine  anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  haruj." 
Such  was  the  earnestness  of  his  denunciations,  that  it  is  said 
that  even  the  Judge  got  frightened.     And  as  for  the  lawyer 


REV.    JAMES    MACGRKGOll,    D.D.  171 

who  conducted  the  case  against  him,  those  near  him  saw  his 
coat-tails  shaking  with  his  agitation,  and  when  he  came  out,  he 
said  he  felt  at  the  time  as  if  every  word  the  Doctor  said  was 
setiding  him  to  hell. 

When  the  second  prosecution  was  going  on,  he  naturally  felt 
much  anxiety.  But  he  met  with  every  sympathy,  and  received 
ready  assistance,  not  only  in  his  own  congregation,  but  in  otlicr 
places.  One  instance  is  worthy  of  being  related  :  On  his  way 
to  Halifax  he  was  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Robert  Johnson,  one  of 
the  Antiburgher  party  in  Colchester.  He  had  had  a  quarrel  with 
the  Session  of  Truro,  and  given  them  a  great  deal  of  trou- 
ble, and  had  taken  offence  at  Mr.  Cock.  He  had  also  joined  in 
the  controversy  between  Dr.  MacGregor  and  the  Truro  breth- 
ren, and  was  a  warm  friend  of  the  Doctor.  He  was  a  man  in 
very  good  circumstances.  When  the  Doctor  was  leaving  his 
house,  he  said  to  him,  "  I  suppose  you  will  want  some  money?" 
"  I  would  be  the  better  of  a  few  pounds  more  than  I  have,  but 
I  have  good  friends  before  me."  "  Yes,  and  you  have  good 
friends  behind  you  too."  He  then  brought  out  £50,  saying, 
*'  Take  that  and  if  I  do  not  ask  you  for  it,  you  will  not  have  to 
pay  it."  The  Doctor  refused  to  take  the  whole,  but  took  a  few 
pounds  for  his  immediate  wants. 

After  the  last  trial  MacKay  became  his  deadly  foe,  and  con- 
tinued his  hostility  in  every  form  as  long  as  they  both  lived. 
He  was  a  man  of  very  violent  temper,  and  kept  himself  and 
others  in  hot  water.  His  life  was  any  thing  but  a  happy  one. 
Donald  MacKay  used  to  say  that  it  happened  to  him  in  a  man- 
ner similar  to  what  had  happened  to  David.  He  had  slain 
Uriah  with  the  sword,  and  therefore  it  was  threatened,  "  The 
sword  shall  never  depart  from  thine  house."  So  MacKay  had 
commenced  a  lawsuit  against  Dr.  MacGregor,  the  first  in  which 
he  was  ever  engaged,  and  from  that  date  he  was  scarcely  out  of 
litigation  as  long  as  he  lived,  at  times  being  at  law  with  his 
own  family.  A  large  amount  of  property  passed  through  his 
hands,  he  having  received  a  grant  of  2000  acres  of  land  for  a 
caribou   calf  which  he  presented  to  the  Governor,  Sir  John 


172  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

"Wcntwortli,  land  which  he  sold  for  as  many  pounds,  yet  when 
he  died  there  was  an  execution  out  against  him.  Some  of  his 
sons,  however,  became  sincere  friends  of  Dr.  MacGregor. 

zVs  allusion  is  made  above  to  his  change  of  lodging,  we  may 
remark  that  Donald  3IacKay's  house,  in  which  he  lodged  for 
about  eight  years,  was  one  of  the  common  log  houses  of  the 
time,  and  that  the  room  fitted  up  for  him  was  in  the  garret.  It 
was,  as  is  said  in  this  country,  ceiled,  a  word  applied  not  only  to 
the  inner  roof  of  a  building,  but  to  describe  any  part  of  it  which 
is  lined  with  boards,  properly  jointed  at  the  edges,  in  opposition 
to  what  is  plastered.  A  plastered  house  did  not  then  exist  in 
PJctou.  Here  he  had  his  bed,  and  a  fire  place,  with  shelves 
for  his  books,  and  as  far  as  these  accommodations  were  con- 
cerned he  had  not  so  much  reason  to  complain.  The  family 
too  were  disposed  to  do  all  in  their  power  for  his  comfort,  and 
in  his  host,  he  had  a  Christian  friend  with  whom  he  often  "took 
sweet  counsel."  But  in  other  respects  his  circumstances  were 
far  from  being  agreeable.  Donald  MacKay's  wife  was  fre- 
quently insane,  and  unfit  to  manage  her  family.  Our  readers 
may  imagine  the  consequences  as  to  his  domestic  comfort.  On 
one  occasion,  when  the  Doctor  and  Donald  came  home  after 
being  absent,  they  found  she  had  thrown  the  bed  and  bedding 
down  stairs.  Donald,  without  one  word  of  anger  or  reproach, 
commenced  gathering  them  up  and  restoring  them  to  their 
proper  place.  The  Doctor,  in  admiration  of  his  calmness,  re- 
marked to  some  bystanders,  "  Did  you  ever  see  a  man  like 
Donald?" 

"  Mrs.  A ,  who  had  been  a  woman  of  ill  fame,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Lord's  Supper  this  season.  She  made  very  great 
professions  of  repentance  and  reformation,  and  the  elders  were 
unanimously  of  opinion  that  she  should  be  admitted.  I  ex- 
pressed-my  fears  that  she  might  turn  out  a  stony-ground  hearer, 
and  that  the  spring  of  her  profession  was  merely  the  general 
stir  about  religion  that  was  in  the  congregation ;  at  the  same 
time  I  yielded  to  their  judgment.  I  wrote  her  case  to  my 
trusty  friend,  the  Rev.  John  Buist,  in  Greenock,  who  gave  me 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  173 

his  opinion  that  we  had  acted  prematurely,  and  that  the  con- 
duct of  such  characters  should  be  proved  for  a  good  while  he- 
fore  admission.  She  maintained  a  consistency  of  character 
about  thi'ee  years,  and  after  that  was  guilty  of  imprudences, 
with  which  the  session  could  not  bear.  If  we  had  had  patience 
for  three  years,  we  would  not  have  admitted  her.  The  question 
is,  should  we  have  waited  all  that  time  ? 

"  The  surveyor-general  of  the  Province  being  in  Pictou  this 
harvest,  I  informed  him  that  the  East  River  meeting-house  wns 
built  upon  a  vacant  lot,  containing  about  three  hundred  acres 
of  land,  and  asked  him  if  a  grant  could  be  gotten  of  it  for  a 
glebe  to  Presbyterian  ministers.  He  answered,  '  Yes ;  that 
there  was  a  precedent  for  it.'  A  number  of  years  afterward 
application  was  made  for  the  grant,  and  it  was  obtained.  As 
Dissenting  congregations  are  not  bodies  corporate,  the  grant 
was  made  to  Donald  MacKay,  Donald  Fraser,  and  me,  and  to 
our  heirs,  in  trust  for  the  congregation ;  and  I  believe  it  was 
the  only  mode  of  granting  which  the  governor  could  have  taken 
in  the  circumstances.  The  bishop,  happening  to  see  the  grant 
in  the  register-office  some  years  since,  was  heard  to  say,  'It  is 
too  late  now ;  but  had  I  known  in  time,  neither  MacGregor, 
nor  iMacKiiy,  nor  Fraser  should  have  gotten  that  grant' — a 
pretty  good  evidence  that  bigotry  still  remains  in  perfection  in 
the  Church  of  England. 

"  This  fall  I  was  surprised  by  a  proposal  from  the  congrega- 
tion to  send  home  for  another  minister.  I  asked  them  how 
they  thought  to  maintain  another  minister,  when  they  had 
enough  to  do  to  pay  me  £90  ?  They  replied,  that  it  would  be 
hard  for  a  few  years,  but  that  every  year  the  place  would  grow 
stronger;  that  they  would  make  greater  exertion  for  the  sake 
of  getting  a  more  frequent  dispensation  of  gospel  ordinances; 
and  they  hoped  that  I  would  lower  my  stipend  for  a  few  years, 
for  the  sake  of  getting  a  fellow-labourer,  to  lighten  my  heavy 
burden.  I  was  very  glad  to  hear  such  a  reply;  so  I  agreed  to 
let  the  stipend  down  to  £75,  and  they  agreed  to  raise  it  £5  an- 
nually, till  it  would  be  high  enough,  and  to  do  the  same  to  the 
15* 


174  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

Other  minister.  A  petition  for  another  minister  was  accord- 
ingly subscribed  by  the  session  and  congregation,  which  I  trans- 
mitted to  the  Synod,  together  with  a  letter,  in  which  I  used  all 
the  arguments  I  could  think  of  to  induce  them  to  grant  the 
prayer  of  the  petition.  At  the  same  time  I  wrote  to  an  ac- 
quaintance, a  preacher,  Eneas  iMacBean,  who,  I  thought,  would 
suit  both  the  people  and  me.  I  was  high  in  hope  that  I  would 
soon  see  two  fellow-labourers — one  for  Amherst  and  one  for 
Pictou,  and  my  hope  was  raised  still  higher  by  a  promise  from 
my  acquaintance  that  he  would  come,  should  the  Synod  so 
appoint.  But  when  I  afterward  got  the  news  of  the  S)nod,  I 
was  sadly  disappointed  and  grieved;  for,  although  the  Synod 
appointed  him,  he  would  not  come,  neither  could  any  other  be 
got  for  Amherst. 

"  The  people  of  Merigomish,  in  a  petition  to  the  session, 
expressing  their  desire  for  the  introduction  of  church  order 
among  them,  prayed  that  proper  steps  might  be  taken  for  the 
ordination  of  some  elders  over  them.  The  session  cheerfully 
granted  the  petition,  and  directed  that  the  regular  steps  should 
be  taken  to  accomplish  its  design.  Some  time  afterward  Wal- 
ter Murray,  John  Small,  and  George  Roy,  were  ordained  ac- 
cordingly." 

"  1790.  This  winter  I  underwent  great  fatigue  in  visitation, 
and  yet  had  to  leave  many  families  unvisited.  I  sat  up  many 
nights,  almost  the  whole  night  engaged  in  religious  conversa- 
tion, sometimes  rejoicing  with  those  that  rejoiced,  and  some- 
times weeping  with  those  that  wept.  The  work  of  grace  was 
apparently  increasing.  Several  were  under  great  fear  that  they 
had  communicated  unworthily. 

''  I  think  it  was  this  year  that  the  first  house  in  Pictou  was 
built.  It  was  some  years  without  a  second.  Now  it  contains 
1440  souls.* 

*  There  seems  to  be  a  mistake  as  to  the  year  in  which  the  first  house  was  built 
in  the  town  of  Pictou.  The  ground  where  the  town  now  stands  was  cleared 
in  the  year  1787,  the  wood  being  cut  down  in  the  winter.  It  is  said  that  the 
first  house  was  erected  in  the  year  following. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  175 

"We  had  only  about  twenty  additional  communicants,  and 
seven  strangers,  three  from  Merigomish,  and  four  from  Shube- 
nacadie,  nearly  sixty  miles  off.  As  to  attendance  at  the  sacra- 
ment, I  observe  once  for  all  that  every  year  there  were  a  few 
new  communicants;  and  that  till  more  ministers  came  and  dis- 
pensed the  sacrament  nearer  to  them,  some  came  from  Shube- 
nacadie,  Kennetcook,  and  Nine  Mile  lliver,  a  distance  of 
seventy  and  eighty  miles. 

"  Soon  after  the  sacrament,  Mrs. *  fell  into  grievous  dis- 
tress of  mind,  which  continued  near  twelve  months.  It  began 
with  an  apprehension  that  she  had  communicated  unworthily, 
but  soon  spread  out  into  a  great  variety  of  branches.  The  evil 
one  was,  in  divine  sovereignty,  permitted  to  keep  her  fearfully 
upon  the  rack  during  the  greater  part  of  the  time  she  was  ill, 
holding  first  one  temptation  and  then  another  before  her  face 
till  he  emptied  his  whole  quiver.  She  had  eaten  and  drunk 
damnation  to  herself — she  was  guilty  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
the  Lord — she  was  a  reprobate  plainly — she  had  committed  the 
sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  could  not  be  forgiven — she  had 
sinned  away  her  day  of  grace,  and  was  justly  given  up  to  in- 
curable hardness  of  heart.  Faith  in  Christ,  repentance  unto 
life,  and  the  love  of  God,  were  precious  gifts  of  God,  which 
she  had  provoked  him,  by  her  unparalleled  pride  and  ingrati- 
tude, to  shut  up  for  ever  from  her.  She  had  most  piercing 
agonies  from  an  apprehension  of  God's  wrath  then,  and  most 
fearful  forebodings  of  worse  to  come.  She  would  swim  all  the 
way  to  Scotland  through  a  sea  of  fire  to  enjoy  the  love  of  Christ. 
Never  was  a  creature  seen  so  self  inconsistent  as  she;  for  at 
one  time  she  would  do  anything  and  give  anything  to  have 
Christ,  but  at  another  time  she  cared  nothing  at  all  about  him, 
so  unconcerned  was  she  about  her  soul.  She  believed  herself 
without  a  parallel  among  the  race  of  Adam,  and  for  many  days 
expected  that  she  would  be  made  a  dreadful  monument  of  di- 
vine wrath  before  the  following  day.  For  some  time  she  gave 
over  praying,  reading,  and  hearing  of  sermons,  and  was  pained 
*  AVe  omit  the  name. 


170  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

at  the  proposal  of  prayer.  Her  case  excited  much  sympathy 
among-  the  religious  part  of  the  people,  and  no  little  picfue  and 
ridicule  among  the  rest.  Several  Christians  laboured  much, 
and  among  them  I  did  my  best,  to  combat  all  her  temptations; 
and  we  saw  that  our  reasonings  had  a  gradual,  though  not  an 
immediate,  effect  toward  her  good.  Almost  every  time  I  went 
to  see  her,  there  was  some  change  in  her  trouble.  The  enemy's 
artillery  was  at  last  exhausted,  or  rather  God's  time  to  favour 
was  come,  and  she  was  restored  to  greater  peace  and  comfort 
than  ever  she  enjoyed.  Perhaps  nothing  contributed  more 
eminently  to  her  peace  than  meditation  on  God's  patience  and 
kindness  in  disappointing  her  so  frequently  of  being  on  the 
morrow  a  monument  of  God's  wrath  on  earth  and  in  hell.  In 
this  she  found  herself  frequently  and  happily  mistaken,  and  it 
led  her  to  conclude  that  she  might  be  mistaken  in  other  things 
of  which  she  was  equally  sure.  She  came  to  see  that  herself 
alone  stood  all  the  time  in  the  way  of  her  comfort,  that  Christ 
was  all  along  freely  pouring  his  blessings  on  her  head,  but  she 
turned  them  all  away,  till  she  could  find  in  her  evil  heart  some- 
thing worthy  of  them." 

This  may  be  a  suitable  place  to  remark,  that  he  was  pecu- 
liarly fitted  for  dealing  with  cases  of  spiritual  distress,  espe- 
cially by  his  patience,  his  sympathy  with  them  in  their  trouble, 
and  the  skill  with  which  he  adapted  his  instructions  to  their 
condition.  He  would  listen  to  their  complaints  with  attention, 
and  for  hours  talk  and  reason  with  them.  Such  was  the  kind- 
ness of  his  manner,  that  they  were  greatly  attracted  to  him. 
We  have  heard,  for  example,  of  an  instance  many  years  later, 
where  a  man  who  used  himself  to  come  from  Cape  John  all  the 
way  to  the  East  River,  a  distance  of  more  than  twenty  miles, 
to  see  the  Doctor  and  have  him  talk  with  him.  Of  his  tact  in 
meeting  the  difficulties  of  such  persons  the  following  may  serve 
as  an  example  :  There  was  a  woman  living  between  where  the 
Albion  Mines  are  now  and  the  Middle  River,  who  had  every 
appearance  of  being  a  very  pious  woman,  but  thi'ough  the  pre- 
valence of  unbelief,  was  always  writing  bitter   things  against 


REV.    JAMKS    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  177 

herself  and  refusing  peace.  On  one  occasion  her  husband,  who 
kept  up  family  worship,  was  singinjr  the  words  of  the  131st 
Psulni,  "  My  soul  is  like  a  weaned  child,"  she  shut  the  book, 
refusing  to  join  because  she  could  not  sing  these  words  with 
truth.  He  talked  long  and  frequently  with  her,  but  resolved  to 
try  another  mode.  So  one  day  he  came  along  riding  on  horse- 
back, and  made  as  if  he  would  go  past.  She  came  out  and 
asked  him  with  some  anxiety,  if  he  were  not  coming  in.  "I 
believe  not."  "  Why  won't  you  come  ?  "  "  Oh,  you  don't  like 
either  me  or  m//  Master."  The  woman  was  quite  hurt  at  the 
idea,  but  this  interview  was,  we  believe,  the  means  of  showing 
her  the  wrong  she  was  doing  herself,  and  of  leading  her  to 
peace. 

The  tendency  in  the  present  day  is  to  look  upon  this  state  of 
mind  as  the  result  of  mere  bodily  derangement.  Doubtless 
this  is  often  one  cause,  and  it  is  a  view  of  it  that  is  not  to  be 
overlooked.  But  we  fear  that  the  spiritual  element,  which  may 
frequently  be  the  main  one,  is  apt  to  be  disregarded.  This  was 
the  aspect,  however,  in  which  he  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  regarded 
them,  perhaps  sometimes  neglecting  bodily  causes,  which  might 
have  had  considerable  influence.  He  treated  the  bitter  things 
they  spoke  of  themselves  as  temptations  of  the  Evil  one,  and 
sought  to  remedy  them  by  prayer  and  the  application  of  "  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus."  Looking  at  them  as  maladies  of  the 
soul,  his  solicitude  was  to  lead  the  unfortunate  persons  to  the 
great  Physician,  and  to  apply  to  their  wounded  spirit  the  balm 
which  is  in  Gilead.  In  this  he  was  often  very  successful.  Of 
this  the  following  is  the  most  remarkable  instance  we  have 
heard  :  A  man  who  lived  at  Cape  John  shore,  named  MacKin- 
non, had  fallen  into  a  state  of  melancholy,  and  acted  in  such  a 
manner  that  his  friends  thought  him  crazy,  and  had  him  lodged 
in  the  Pictou  jail.  When  there  the  poor  man  was  always  call- 
ing for  Dr.  MacGregor,  and  saying,  that  if  he  would  see  him 
he  would  soon  set  him  all  right.  At  length  they  did  send  for 
the  Doctor,  who  came  and  conversed  with  him  in  Gaelic.  He 
soon  saw  that  the  man  was  really  anxious  about  his  spiritual 


178  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

oondition,  and  told  the  sheriff  tliat  the  man  was  not  crazy,  and 
that  they  might  safely  let  him  go.  The  result  of  the  Doctor's 
conversations  with  the  man  was  that  he  was  soon  rejoicing  in 
Clirist  Jesus,  and  lived  a  consistent  Christian  life  till  the  time 
of  his  death. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year  (1700)  he  visited  Onslow.  We 
have  not  hcen  able  to  ascertain  the  circumstances  which  led  to 
his  visit,  or  why  he  preached  there,  while  the  people  were  pro- 
perly under  the  ministerial  charge  of  Mr.  (Jock,  but  we  believe 
tliat  there  was  a  party  opposed  to  the  latter,  and  that  he  had 
gone  at  their  solicitation.  "We  know  that  on  one  occasion  he 
was  refused  admission  to  the  church.  The  party  at  whose  so- 
licitation he  was  preaching  proposed  breaking  open  the  doors, 
but  he  refused  to  allow  any  such  measures  to  be  taken  and 
preached  in  the  open  air. 

Of  his  present  visit  the  only  incident  that  we  have  to  record, 
is  one  that  is  mentioned  by  himself  among  a  number  of  others, 
which  he  records  under  the  title  "  Memorabilia,"  which  we 
will  give  in  his  own  words  : 

''In  July  1790,  in  Onslow  meeting-house  I  had  a  speedy  and 
remarkable  answer  of  an  ejaculatory  prayer.  Immediately  after 
sermon,  at  my  right  hand  stood  up  a  man  and  intimated  to  the 
congregation  that  Mr.  Chipman  would  preach  there  after  half 
an  hour's  interval.  Immediately  I  prayed  in  my  heart,  'Lord, 
confound  him,  that  he  may  not  prevent  the  springing  of  the 
good  seed  sown,'  for  I  knew  that  Mr.  Chipman,  being  a  New 
Light  preacher,  would  teach  the  people  the  grossest  errors. 
About  five  minutes  after  he  began  to  preach,  Mr.  Chipman 
fainted  and  continued  senseless  about  ten  minutes,  and  though 
he  recovered,  yet  he  did  not  preach  any  that  day.  Therefore 
another  New  Light  minister,  who  was  there,  stood  up  to  preach 
in  his  place,  but  after  he  had  proceeded  about  five  minutes,  con- 
ibundcd;  he  g;ive  it  up,  and  the  congregation  dismissed." 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  179 


CHAPTER    IX. 

GENERAL    VIEW    OF    HIS    EARLY    MINISTRATIONS    IN    I'ICTOU. 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  T  remember  thee,  the  kindness  of  thy  youth,  the  love 
of  thine  espousals,  when  thou  wcntest  after  me  in  the  iTildcrncss,  in  a  l;iiid 
tliat  was  not  sown.  Israel  was  holiness  to  the  Lord  and  the  first  fruits  of  his 
increase."    Jer.  ii.  1,  3.  \ 

Having  advanced  thus  far,  it  may  be  proper  to  pause  in  our 
narrative,  to  give  a  general  view  of  his  early  ministrations, 
raore  especially  as  our  subsequent  chapters  will  introduce  us 
into  his  Missionary  labours  abroad.  The  sketch  we  shall  give, 
however,  is  not  intended  to  describe  merely  the  years  over 
which  we  have  passed,  but  will  be  descriptive  of  the  whole 
nine  years  in  which  he  was  alone,  and  also  to  some  extent  of 
his  pastoral  labours  during  his  whole  life. 

When  he  arrived,  he  was  deeply  discouraged  at  the  gloomy 
appearance  of  the  country  and  tlie  low  state  of  the  people.  A 
letter  of  one  of  his  friends  represents  him  as  having  written  of 
"the  dismal  appearance  of  the  place,  and  that  if  he  could  have 
conveniently  got  away  from  it  he  would  have  come."  Still  he 
set  about  his  labours  with  energy,  though  oftentimes  with  very 
depressed  spirits. 

From  the  first  his  sermons  were  sound  and  evangelical,  and 
delivered  in  an  agreeable  manner.  But  neither  in  vigour  of 
thought  nor  fervour  of  appeal,  did  they  reach  the  superlative 
excellence  of  those  of  his  after  years.  ]>ut  the  improvement 
was  very  rapid.  One  circumstance  which  perhups  more  than 
any  other  especially  tended  to  arouse  the  ardour  of  his  nature, 


180  MExMOIR    OP   THE 

was  his  view  of  the  condition  of  the  settlers.  "His  spirit  was 
stirred  within  hioi  when  he  beheld"  tlie  ignorance  and  spirit- 
ual desolation  around  hira,  and  all  his  energies,  intellectual, 
and  spiritual,  as  well  as  physical,  were  awakened  on  their  be- 
half. To  the  preparation  of  his  discourses,  he  devoted  as 
much  time  and  labour  as  his  circumstances  would  permit. 
When  at  home  he  was  diligent  in  study,  and  in  his  little  garret 
he  spent  hours  over  his  books,  it  might  be  when  others  were 
asleep.  But  he  was  much  of  his  time  from  home,  and  even 
when  at  home  he  had  often  little  time  allowed  him  for  study. 
He  was  not  long  here  till  he  was  greatly  interrupted  when  at 
home  by  calls  from  persons  wishing  to  cotiverse  with  him. 
There  were  times  when  not  a  day  would  elapse  without  such 
calls,  sometimes  to  the  number  of  half  a  dozen.  Many  of  these 
would  be  anxious  about  the  salvation  of  their  souls — some 
would  come  to  have  their  perplexities  solved  either  in  regard  to 
matters  of  religious  experience  or  Christian  doctrine,  while 
some  perhaps  caiue  from  curiosity,  or  to  enjoy  his  company. 
He  however  never  repelled  any,  and  spent  much  time  in  con- 
versing with  them,  although  their  business  was  not  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  justify  such  encroachments  upon  his  time.  So 
little  consideration  had  the  people  that  some  would  come  to 
converse  with  him  on  the  Sabbath  morning.  Under  these  cir- 
stances  it  was  little  of  regular  study  that  he  could  do. 

He  was  therefore  soon  under  the  necessity  of  abandoning  the 
practice  of  writing  out  his  sermons  in  full.  The  mode  which 
he  adopted,  and  which  he  followed  through  life,  was  to  write 
outlines,  containing  the  heads  and  particulars,  with  the  leading 
illustrations,  and  the  principal  passages  of  Scripture  to  be 
quoted.  Of  these  we  have  already  given  samples.  These 
were  the  result  of  much  thought,  or  as  much  as  he  could  give, 
and  he  learned  to  study  in  every  situation,  sometimes  with  the 
noise  of  children  around  him,  at  other  times  travelling  along 
the  road.  On  one  occasion  going  up  to  preach  at  a  private 
house,  in  company  with  old  James  MacDonald,  the  elder,  the 
latter  happened  in  conversation  to  quote  a  particular  passage  of 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  181 

Scripture.  A  little  after  the  Doctor  became  silent,  as  it*  niusine:. 
James  thinking  that  he  was  studying  his  sermon,  did  not  dis- 
turb him.  "When  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  preaching,  the 
Doctor  preached  on  the  text  which  James  had  quoted,  with 
great  life  ;  observing  afterward,  that  he  had  intended  to  preach 
on  another  subject,  but  that  the  remark  of  James  had  led  him 
to  select  the  one  chosen.  Frequently,  however,  he  was  obliged 
to  preach  without  much  study,  and  he  was  graciously  sustained, 
as  many  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord  have  been  in  such  circum- 
stances. On  one  occasion,  coming  home  to  Donald  MacKay's 
very  late  in  the  week,  he  was  obliged  to  preach  without  much 
preparation.  When  service  was  over,  Donald  said  to  him,  "  I 
think  you  got  that  sermon  out  of  your  sleeve."  He  acknow- 
ledged that  he  had  not  much  time  to  study  it.  "  Oh,"  said 
Donald,  ''  I  wish  that  you  would  always  preach  without  study, 
if  you  would  give  us  such  sermons  as  that." 

It  has  been  said  that  the  nature  of  a  minister's  preaching 
might  be  learned  from  a  list  of  his  texts.  We  have  such  lists 
for  some  months  of  his  early  ministry.  From  these  we  learn, 
that  his  preaching  was  occupied  with  the  great  themes  of  evan- 
gelical truth.  One  practice,  then  common  in  Scotland,  which 
he  followed,  may  be  particularly  noticed,  viz.,  preaching  courses 
of  sermons,  sometimes  on  some  great  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  at 
other  times  on  the  several  verses,  in  succession,  of  some  rich 
portion  of  the  word  of  God.  Thus  we  find  a  series  of  discourses 
on  Rom.  viii.,  another  on  John  xv.,  and  a  third  on  Isaiah  liii.j 
commonly  one  verse,  but  sometimes  only  one  clause,  and  at 
other  times  two  verses  being  employed  at  a  time.  That  he  did 
not  neglect  the  practical  duties  of  religion,  we  may  learn  from 
his  course  of  sermons  on  the  Ten  Commandments  already  de- 
scribed. Besides  he  regularly  followed  the  Scottish  practice  of 
lecturing,  or  continuous  exposition  of  the  books  of  Scripture, 
his  first  course  being  on  the  gospel  of  Matthew. 

Very  soon  a  deep  impression  was  made  upon  the  minds  of 

the  community,  manifested  in  the  eagerness  with  which  they 

attended  upon  his  ministry,  from  every  part  of  the  district 
16 


183  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

Many  doubtless  were  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  service 
(for  preaching  was  then  a  novelty),  and  even  to  those  who  had  a 
spiritual  taste  for  the  word,  this  added  an  additional  charm  to 
his  ministrations.  JJut  many  came  from  higher  motives,  even 
to  hear  words  by  which  they  miglit  be  saved.  In  winter  they 
could  not  all  assemble  at  one  place,  as  the  snow  shoe  was  the 
only  mode  of  conveyance.  But  in  summer,  whether  the  preach- 
ing was  at  the  East  or  West  Ptiver,  the  inhabitants  of  all  the 
neighbouring  settlements  attended.  A  large  number  came  by 
water  in  canoes  or  boats,  but  many  walked;  and  we  have  heard 
even  of  young  women  walking  regularly  to  the  East  Eiver, 
from  West  River  and  Rogers  Hill,  distances  of  ten,  twelve,  or 
fifteen  miles.  The  aged  would  set  out  on  Saturday,  and  stay 
overnight  with  some  friend  on  the  way,  while  the  young  and 
robust  would  leave  home  early  on  the  Sabbath  morning,  per- 
haps before  sunrise.  They  usually  travelled  in  small  compa- 
nies, the  older  endeavouring  to  lead  the  conversation  to  reli- 
gious subjects.  J^Iost  of  them  walked  barefoot,  some  carrying 
their  shoes  and  stockings  in  their  hands,  till  they  arrived  at  a 
brook  near  the  church,  where  they  washed  their  feet,  and  put 
on  their  shoes  and  stockings,  and  thus  proceeded  to  the  place 
of  meeting. 

When  they  nssembled,  all,  witli  the  exception  of  the  profli- 
gates, who  soon  relinquished  attendance,  listened  Avith  the 
utmost  attention,  the  younger  jjortion  of  the  audience  as  to 
something  both  new  and  strange,  the  older  with  a  pleasure 
chastened  by  the  recollection  of  similar  privileges  enjoyed  in 
their  native  land.  The  only  interruption,  we  have  heard  of, 
was  by  a  Quaker,  present  on  one  occasion,  who  when  the  Doc- 
tor had  after  sermon  called  upon  the  parents  to  present  their 
children  for  baptism,  stood  up  and  said,  "  Friend  James,  who 
gave  thee  authority  to  do  that?"  The  Doctor  replied,  "Come 
to  me  to-morrow  and  I  will  tell  you."  The  Quaker  did  not 
accept  the  invitation. 

When  the  services  were  over,  they  travelled  in  groups  home 
ward,  when  the  conversation,  led  by  one  of  the  elders  or  some 


REV.    JAMES    J\!ACtlRK(i()l{,    D.I).  183 

agod  Christian,  would  be  on  spiritual  subjects;  but  would  chiefly 
turn  upon  the  sermons  of  the  day,  and  among  tlie  company, 
the  greater  portion  of  what  they  had  heard  would  be  repeated. 
Ill  fills  Ikobert  IMarshall  and  Kenneth  Fraser  were  particularly 
distinguished'.  l\eturning  from  the  Loch  Broom  Church,  the 
lattc'r  would  collect  those  going  in  the  same  direction  with  him, 
at  a  spot  where  there  was  a  windfall  on  the  path.  Here  they 
sat  down,  and  the  bread  and'other  refreshments  which  they  liad 
brought  being  handed  round,  he  would  begin  at  the  youngest, 
and  re(|uire  him  to  tell  what  he  recollected  of  the  sermon, 
and  proceed  in  the  same  manner  to  the  eldest,  and  among  them 
the  greater  portion  of  the  discourses  would  be  recalled. 

A  good  many  of  the  older  people  from  the  Highlands  could 
not  read,  but  it  is  said  that  many  of  them  could  give  a  wonder- 
fully correct  account  of  the  sermon,  and  had  much  Scripture 
in  their  memories.  Those  who  could  read  had  been  taught  in 
a  manner  common  till  a  much  later  period  in  the  Highlands. 
This  was  to  take  the  English  Bible,  and  teach  the  pupils  to 
give  a  Gaelic  word  for  each  English  one.  Thus  even  those  who 
could  speak  very  little  English,  could  give  an  account  of  an 
English  sermon,  or  translate  a  chapter  of  the  English  Bible 
into  Gaelic.  And  as  Gaelic  Bibles  were  then  very  scarce,  this 
•way  of  reading  the  Scriptures  was  very  common  among  them. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  public  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
and  perhaps  occupying  more  time,  and  involving  more  labour, 
were  his  ministrations  from  house  to  house,  and  his  public  cate- 
chising. But  regularly  did  he  discharge  these  important  parts 
of  pastoral  duty.  His  visitations  were  conducted  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  After  the  usual  salutations,  he  lost  no  time  in 
proceeding  to  the  object  of  his  visit.  He  commenced  by  ask- 
ing each  member  of  the  household,  beginning  at  the  head  of 
the  family  and  proceeding  to  the  youngest,  whether  they  regu- 
larly observed  the  duty  of  secret  prayer.  He  next  asked  the 
head  of  the  family  whether  he  discharged  the  duty  of  family 
worship.  The  various  answers  to  these  questions  led  to  cor- 
responding   explanations    and    eshurtations.       He    th.en    com- 


184  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

tnenccd  •with  the  husband  and  started  some  subject  in  relip:ion, 
and  put  such  questions  as  might  best  serve  to  elicit  his  state  of 
mind,  lie  thus  engaged  him  in  conversation,  and  tendered 
such  advice,  encouragement,  or  warning,  as  liis  case  seemed  to 
require.  He  did  the  same  with  the  wife,  and  with  each  mem- 
ber of  the  family  around  to  the  youngest  child,  to  wliom  he 
put  a  few  questions,  and  spoke  a  few  kindly  words.  Thus  his 
visitation  was  a  direct  religious  conversation  with  every  indi- 
vidual, and  an  earnest  pressing  home  upon  each  of  religious 
things.  We  need  not  say  that  such  an  exercise,  in  the  style  of 
familiar  conversation  of  which  he  was  master,  was  fitted  to  make 
him  acquainted  with  the  spiritual  condition  of  every  member 
of  his  flock,  and  how  such  close  personal  dealing  was  fitted  to 
produce  saving  impressions.  The  whole  was  concluded  by  an 
affectionate,  fervent  prayer.  So  much  time  was  occupied  in 
these  exercises,  and  the  houses  were  so  much  scattered,  that 
three  or  at  most  four  families  were  as  many  as  he  could  visit  in 
a  day. 

The  following  is  a  brief  description  of  his  diets  of  examina- 
tion. On  Sabbath  intimation  was  given  that  all  the  families, 
within  a  certain  distance,  would  meet  at  such  a  house  on  a  par- 
ticular day  named.  Such  was  the  interest  which  these  meet- 
ings excited,  in  those  days,  that  not  only  would  the  members 
of  the  families  in  the  quarter  attend,  but  a  number  from  other 
sections  would  esteem  it  a  privilege  to  be  present,  and  would 
attend  to  receive  instruction  as  hearers,  so  that  the  house  would 
be  full.  After  prayer  he  commenced  with  one  family,  usually 
that  in  whose  dwelling  they  were  assembled.  Commonly  some 
question  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  was  chosen  as  the  basis  of 
instruction.  Perhaps  Justification  was  the  theme,  and  then  the 
father  was  examined  on  some  point  in  the  question,  such  as  the 
meaning  of  Justification,  or  the  condemnation  of  all  men  by 
nature,  and  the  impossibility  of  being  justified  by  our  own 
doings.  The  answers  given  afforded  opportunities  for  the  cor- 
rection of  errors — for  the  elucidation  of  what  was  not  clearly 
understood,  or  the  fuller  illustration  of  what  was  but  imperfectly 


REV.    JAMES    MACGIlEGOn,    D.D.  185 

appreciated.  Then  he  turned  to  the  mother,  and  proceeded 
to  elucidate,  by  means  of  questions  to  her,  nnothcr  point  in  the 
question,  and  so  with  the  other  members  of  tlie  family  in  order, 
with  the  exception  of  the  very  young  children.  The  next 
family  was  dealt  with  in  a  simihir  manner,  and  so  on  till  he  had 
gone  over  them  all.  And  now  the  signal  is  given,  "  You  young 
childron,  come  around  mc,"  and  immediately  there  is  a  patter- 
ing of  little  feet,  and  a  rush  forward  of  the  juvenile  portion  of 
the  audience.  Glistening  eyes  show  the  eagerness  of  many  a 
little  heart,  to  show  how  he  has  "  learned  his  questions,"  and 
his  anxiety  to  gain  an  approving  word  from  "  the  minister." 
Some  questions  suited  to  their  capacity  are  put  to  each.  Those 
who  have  answered  well  receive  their  due  meed  of  approbation, 
while  otlicrs  are  encouraged  to  do  better  next  time,  and  all  re- 
ceive a  kindly  exhortation.  A  short  address  to  the  whole 
assemblage  and  prayer  conclude  the  service. 

"  There  were  many  circumstances,"  to  use  the  language  of 
another,  "that  imparted  to  these  meetings  a  peculiar  interest — 
the  number  and  variety  of  the  questions  proposed — the  diver- 
sified and  often  striking  illustrations  of  the  subject  under  re- 
view— the  answers  given — their  different  degrees  of  pertinency, 
and  the  ground  tliey  afforded  for  remark,  elucidation,  or  cor- 
rection, on  the  part  of  the  examinator — the  amount  of  doctri- 
nal matter  exhibited — the  familiar  style  in  which  the  whole 
business  was  conducted — all  this  conspired  to  render  of  high 
consequence  this  portion  of  ministerial  labour.  It  was  the 
general  persuasion,  that,  at  one  such  meeting,  there  was  oftea 
more  information  communicated  than  was  to  be  derived  from 
many  sermons.  But  the  truths  brought  under  notice,  fre- 
quently formed  the  subject  of  after  reflection  and  conversation. 
It  was  kept  in  mind,  who  had  best  acquitted  themselves  in  the 
answers  returned,  what  the  mistakes  that  had  been  incurred, 
the  corrections  by  which  they  had  been  followed,  and  their  co- 
incidence with  the  infallible  standard  of  revelation.  The  ten- 
dency of  all  this  was  to  produce  more  correct,  and  extensive 
16* 


186  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

views  of  divine  doctrine,  to  qualify  to  hear  the  gospel  with 
more  understanding,  to  peruse  treatises  on  religious  subjects 
with  greater  advantage,  and  to  render  more  fit  for  subsequent 
examination.  While  thus  a  taste  for  sacred  truth  was  invigo- 
rated, there  W'as  also  a  greater  aptitude  to  impart  information 
to  those,  whose  cases  might  more  urgently  require  it." 

From  the  state  of  the  country,  as  we  have  already  described 
it,  these  pastoral  duties  could  not  be  discharged  without  much 
labour  in  travelling.  In  summer  the  harbours  were  crossed 
and  the  streams  ascended  in  canoes.  Those  used  by  the  whites 
were  usually  constructed  of  a  single  tree,  which  had  been 
hollowed  out,  generally  one  of  the  large  pines,  which  were  then 
abundant.  These,  when  properly  made,  formed  a  very  conve- 
nient craft  capable  of  carrying  four  or  five  persons  with  perfect 
safety.  But  from  the  situation  of  the  people,  it  was  only  a 
small  portion  of  his  travelling  that  could  be  performed  in  this 
manner.  Much  of  it  was  by  land,  and  only  in  a  few  places 
were  there  even  paths.  What  were  called  roads  scarcely  served 
any  purpose  but  to  prevent  the  traveller  going  astray.  They 
were  narrow,  and  the  traveller  was  apt  to  be  scratched  by  the 
branches  of  trees,  by  which  they  were  crossed,  stones  and  roots 
of  trees  rendered  the  walking  difficult,  and  at  most  seasons  of 
the  year  they  w^ere  wet  and  boggy,  though  over  the  worst  places 
logs  were  laid.  All  these  circumstances  rendered  walking  dis- 
agreeable. But  the  chief  of  the  travelling  was  along  shore  or 
along  the  banks  of  rivers,  which  were  often  encumbered  with 
trees  and  stones,  and  at  other  places  presented  bogs,  in  Avhich 
the  pedestrian  was  in  danger  of  being  mired,  or  creeks  which 
required  a  long  circuit  round,  or  brooks  which  it  was  necessary 
to  ascend  for  some  distance  to  a  convenient  place  of  crossing. 
But  the  greater  part  of  his  regular  family  visiting  and  cate- 
chizing was  done  in  winter.  It  is  certain  that  whether  more 
snow  fell  then  than  now,  that  it  lay  more  continuously  through 
the  winter,  and  most  of  the  travelling  was  on  snow  shoes,  ex- 
cept when  crossing  the  ice,  or  when  the  snow  had  been  soft- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  187 

ened  by  a  thaw,  and,  being  afterward  frozen,  became  sufficiently 
hard  to  bear  the  traveller.* 

But  in  this  work  he  was  remarkably  active.  There  were  few 
men  equal  to  him  in  going  through  the  woods.  His  very  gait 
was  peculiar.  It  was  so  fast  that  he  kept  others  who  were  in 
company  with  him  on  a  half  run.  The  late  Alexander  Came- 
ron, of  Loch  Broom,  one  of  his  elders,  and  a  strong  active 
man,  used  to  say  that  he  never  saw  a  man,  with  whom  it  was 
as  difficult  to  keep  beside.  By  running  he  could  outstrip  him, 
but  if  he  relapsed  into  a  walk,  the  Doctor  was  sure  to  be  soon 
away  head  of  him.  Though  not  a  very  strong  man,  yet  he 
possessed  such  remarkable  powers  of  endurance,  that  he  tra- 
velled long  distances  with  comparatively  little  fatigue,  and  out- 
did many,  who  were  accustomed  to  labour  and  travelling  in  the 
forest. 

In  visiting  among  the  people  during  these  years  he  also  en- 
dured much  privation  from  the  poverty  of  the  people.  Their 
little  huts  had  only  one  way  in  which  they  could  be  kept  com- 
fortable from  the  cold,  viz.,  by  large  fires,  and  happily  wood 
was  abundant.  There  were  none  of  those  diabolical  inventions, 
called  cooking  stoves,  which  only  render  darkness  visible,  and 
by  consuming  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  and  leaving  the  inmates  of 
the  dwelling  to  breathe  the  impure  residue,  are  destroying  the 
health  of  the  young  of  our  land,  and  sending  fell  consumption 
on  his  destroying  march  through  our  borders.  But  a  large 
chimney,  with  a  capacious  open  fire-place,  occupied  almost  one 
entire  end  of  the  house.  In  the  back  of  this  fire-place,  was 
placed  a  large  billet  of  wood,  cut  ofi"  the  thickest  tree  that  could 
be  found,  and  familiarly  called  "  the  back  log."  In  front  of 
this,  resting  on  two  iron  supporters  called  "  dog  irons,"  smaller 
sticks  were  laid,  under  which  the  fire  was  placed,  A  glowing 
blaze  soon  ascended,  which  difi"used  by  radiation  at  once  heat, 
and  light,  and  cheerfulness,  to  the  whole  dwelling. 

But   their  accommodations,  otherwise,  were   of  the   poorest 

*  A  fuller  account  of  the  travelling  in  those  times  will  be  given  hereafter 
in  our  eleventh  chapter. 


188  MEMOIR   or   THE 

kind.  Often  the  liard  pkuk  was  liis  only  bed,  and  potatoes 
his  only  fare.  We  have  hoard  of  his  waking  to  find  his  cover- 
let white  with  snow.  AVhere  the  people  were  in  better  circum- 
stances, a  comfortable  bed  was  provided,  sometimes  the  only 
one  in  the  house.  l>ut  during  these  years,  on  his  visitntions, 
which  were  mostly  in  winter,  his  most  co?nmon  bed  wns  some 
straw  spread  out  before  the  fire,  and  covered  with  a  rug.  Such 
clothes  as  they  had  were  given  for  a  covering.  He  would  take 
oft'  his  coat  and  wrap  it  round  his  feet,  which  were  most  apt  to 
become  cold.  ]3ut  his  chief  dcpenJence  for  heat  was  upon  the 
fire,  which  was  left  burning  when  he  lay  down,  but  which  he 
was  frequently  obliged  to  replenish  during  the  night.  Yet 
never  was  he  known  to  complain.  No  expressions  but  those  of 
gratitude  escaped  his  lips.  ]jut  how  keenly  he  felt  such  priva- 
tions may  be  learned  from  the  remark  which  he  frequently 
made  in  his  advanced  years,  when  surrounded  by  the  comforts 
of  life,  that  he  never  lay  down  to  rest  at  night,  without  feeling 
thankful  for  a  bed. 

Ilis  fare  too  was  of  the  humblest  kind,  but  he  partook  of  it 
with  thankfulness,  knowing  that  the  people  did  the  best  for 
him  they  could.  lie  not  only  forbore  all  complaint,  but  with 
a  delicate  appreciation  of  the  feelings  of  poor  people,  employed 
every  means  of  making  them  see  that  he  valued  their  kindness. 
Thus  when  potatoes  and  gruel  were  the  only  articles  of  diet 
provided,  we  have  been  told  of  his  eating  heartily,  lest  they 
should  think  that  he  either  despised  their  fare,  or  felt  the  want 
of  better;  or  again  when  a  little  bread  and  milk  was  offered, 
and  the  poor  woman  felt  mortified  at  not  having  any  thing  else, 
we  have  heard  of  his  speaking  even  in  terms  of  reproof,  as  if 
she  were  despising  God's  mercies,  saying  to  her,  "  What  more 
would  you  wish  ?  Here  is  bread — the  emblem  of  Christ  and 
his  blessings,  and  milk — the  emblem  of  the  word  of  God.  De- 
sire the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  you  may  grow  thereby." 

But  in  nothing  was  he  more  distinguished  than  by  his  con- 
versational powers.  In  this  he  possessed  a  peculiar  gift. 
Whether  travelling,  or   in  the   house,  he   kept   up  one  uninter- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGUEaOK,    D.D.  189 

ruptcd  strcnni  of  interesting  conversation.  The  only  time  that 
might  be  considered  an  exception  to  this,  was  when  travelling 
to  preaching.  Then  he  was  commonly  silent,  but  returning  he 
was  more  than  usually  fluent.  IMuch  of  his  conversation  was 
directly  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  whittever  subject  came 
up  he  possessed  a  remarkable  faculty  of  giving  it  a  religious 
turn.  This  power  was  remarked  by  every  person  who  came  in 
contact  with  him.  In  after  years,  some  of  his  brethren  used 
to  say,  they  really  envied  him.  One  of  them  said,  "  We'll  go 
into  a  house,  and  will  be  thinking  upon  what  subject  to  begin 
and  how  to  introduce  it,  but  before  we  know,  Mr.  MacGregor 
will  be  right  in  the  midst  of  religious  conversation."  On  one 
occasion  travelling  in  company  with  another  niinistor,  he  e;illcd 
at  a  house  on  the  way,  while  the  former  went  on  to  the  house 
where  they  were  to  stop.  When  the  Doctor  arrived  he  found 
him  laughing  and  talking  with  some  levity  with  a  young  woman 
in  the  house.  The  Doctor  immediately  began  to  speak  rather 
reprovingly  to  him.  The  latter  replied,  "  We  can't  always  be 
talking  religion."  "Oh,"  said  the  Doctor,  "you  should  look 
at  the  example  of  the  Saviour.  When  he  entered  a  house,  he 
went  slap  dasJi  into  the  subject  of  religion."  Nothing  could 
more  strikingly  illustrate  his  own  practice.  He  has  been 
known  to  say  that  he  never  met  with  but  one  man  with  whom 
he  could  not  engage  in  religious  conversation.  This  was  an  old 
soldier,  a  drunken,  ignorant,  Irish  Roman  Catholic.  He  could 
find  nothing  which  would  serve  as  a  handle  by  which  to  get 
hold  of  his  mind.  He  remarked  that  it  seemed  strange  to  him, 
that  he  should  have  travelled  some  miles  with  him,  and  not 
have  been  able  to  do  any  thing  for  his  spiritual  enlightenment. 
What  a  reproof  is  this  to  so  many  ministers  and  private  Chris- 
tians, who  spend,  it  may  be,  days  in  the  company  of  others, 
without  an  effort  to  direct  their  minds  to  the  great  concern  ! 

But  while  his  conversation  was  largely  'occupied  with  reli- 
gion, yet  much  of  it  was  upon  other  subjects.  At  one  time  he 
might  be  heard  instructing  those  around  him  in  the  mysteries 
of  the  Copernican   system,  although   the   idea   that  the   earth 


190  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

moved  round  tlie  sun,  provoked  the  incredulous  declaration 
from  one,  whose  senses  seemed  to  contradict  such  a  view  : 
*'  Lies,  lies !  when  I  built  my  house  I  i^ut  the  door  on  the  west 
side,  and  it's  there  yet ;"  at  another  time,  explaining  the  won- 
derful processes  of  nature,  evaporation  from  the  sea,  the  carry- 
ing of  the  clouds  over  the  land  by  the  wind,  the  descent  of  the 
rain,  and  the  combined  influences,  by  which  the  fruits  of  the 
earth  are  bronght  to  maturity.  Or  again  he  might  be  found 
pointing  out  improved  modes  of  culture,  or  advising  them  as  to 
improved  modes  of  management ;  while  again  he  would  be  glean- 
ing information  from  them  on  subjects,  with  which  his  com- 
panions were  better  acquainted  than  himself.  Nor  should  it  be 
omitted  that  he  w'ould  sometimes  enliven  the  company  with 
some  harmless  joke. 

The  following  incident,  simple  as  it  is,  will  serve  to  give  an 
idea  of  his  usual  manner.  Two  young  men  had  gone  over  to 
Salmon  River  to  get  some  grain  ground.  There  were  indeed 
by  that  time  one  or  two  mills  erected  in  Pictou,  but  they  were 
useless.  While  there  the  Doctor  arrived  on  his  way  home  from 
a  mission  to  Amherst.  He  was  asked  to  stay  all  night,  but  at 
first  felt  inclined  to  go  on,  as  he  had  been  several  weeks  absent 
from  home.  But  on  finding  two  of  his  own  people  there,  who 
could  not  leave  till  the  next  morning,  he  consented  to  remain. 
After  having  had  dinner  and  being  rested  a  little,  he  went 
down  to  the  mill  and  took  a  plan  of  it.  The  nest  day  they 
set  out  on  their  return  home,  he  riding  on  horseback,  they 
•walking,  with  their  sacks  of  flour  across  their  horses'  backs. 
Going  through  some  bushes,  they  pulled  a  quantity  of  hazel 
nuts,  which  they  gave  him  to  eat.  On  emerging  into  an  open 
space,  he  said,  "Now  you've  been  giving  me  food,  I  will  give 
you  some  spiritual  food."  He  accordingly  took  out  Fleming 
on  the  Fulfilling  of  Scripture,  out  of  which  he  read  for  some 
time.  So  interested  did  they  become,  that  my  informant,  wlio 
was  one  of  them,  said,  th.at  the  very  first  opportunity  he  had, 
he  purchased  a  copy  of  the  work.  The  plan  of  the  mill  he 
brought  home  to  John  Fraser  (squire)  who  was  about  erecting 


REV.    JAMKS    AIACOREGOR,    D.D,  191 

one.  It  was  not  quite  perfect,  ;ind  lie  sent  it  to  a  inilhvriglit 
in  Halifax,  witli  whom  lie  was  acquainted,  who  made  some  cor- 
rections upon  it,  and  from  liis  plan  as  thus  amended,  31r.  Fra- 
scr  built  his  mill. 

In  the  opportunities  afforded  him  of  intercouri^e  with  the 
people  no  class  was  overlooked.  Wherever  he  met  witli  the 
youm;  he  would  always  engage  in  conversation  with  them. 
So  attracted  were  they  to  him,  that  bo}S  would  follow  1iim  for 
some  distance  along  the  road  to  enjoy  his  company.  Persons 
now  aged  or  in  middle  life,  have  told  me  of  meeting  him  on  the 
road,  and  liis  stopping  to  give  them  exhortations,  which  they 
had  never  forgotten.  But  it  seemed  as  if  he  made  it  especially 
his  object  to  pay  attention  to  such  unfortunate  creatures,  as 
from  age,  poverty,  or  some  infirmity,  are  apt  to  be  despised. 

While  we  have  referred  particularl}'  to  his  labours  directly 
on  behalf  of  religion,  we  must  observe,  that  h.is  efforts  were  also 
directed  to  whatever  else  he  considered  as  tending  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  community,  and  the  comfort  of  individuals 
and  fimilies.  Particularly  did  he  labour  to  improve  the  educa- 
tion of  the  place,  to  induce  among  the  people  a  deeper  sense  of 
its  value,  and  to  make  greater  exertions  for  its  support,  while 
ho  was  diligent  in  his  endeavours  to  introduce  more  efficient 
systems.  He  also  himself  imported  Bibles  and  religious  hooks 
for  sale  and  circulation  among  the  people.  Those  were  not  the 
days  of  Bible  and  Tract  Societies,  and  this  could  not  be  done 
so  easily  as  now.  But  he  had  that  active  turn  of  mind,  that 
he  was  always  busy  about  something,  and  attended  to  every 
thing  small  and  great,  even  to  what  might  seem  trifling.  Thus 
when  asking  the  head  of  a  family,  if  he  observed  family  wor- 
ship, and  learning  that  he  did  not  at  night  for  want  of  light,  lie 
would  direct  them  to  take  some  pine  roots,  and  have  them  sjilit 
up  and  dried,  and  the  wife  to  hold  one  of  them  as  a  torch  while 
the  husband  read.  Or  again  in  the  house  where  he  lodged,  he 
might  be  found  telling  them  to  put  a  large  bnck  log  into  the 
chimney  on  Saturday  night,  which  would  do  over  Sabbath,  or 
to  carry  in  sufficient  water  to  do  till  Mond-iy.     Or  on  one  of 


]92  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  preaching  days  of  a  sacrament,  he  would  tell  the  young  and 
vigorous  to  go  over  to  the  East  or  West  raver,  and  leave  the 
old  to  occupy  the  houses  near  at  hand. 

All  this  was  done  in  so  kind  a  manner,  that  these  very  little 
things  aided  in  causing  the  aftections  of  the  people  to  entwine 
around  him.  J]ven  when  he  reproved,  and  no  man  was  ever 
more  faithful  in  giving  reproof,  it  was  done  with  such  kindness, 
that  the  offending  were  attached  to  him  at  the  very  time  that 
lie  exposed  their  faults.  Instances  there  were  in  which  he  re- 
proved with  severity,  but  these  were  peculiar  cases,  and  in 
general  his  reproofs  were  rendered  effective  by  the  very  gentle- 
ness of  his  manner. 

With  such  a  manner  of  going  out  and  coming  in  among 
tlvem,  we  need  not  wonder  that  he  attained  a  place  in  the  affec- 
tion of  the  people,  as  high  as  ever  any  mere  man  did  in  the 
hearts  of  his  fellow  men.  Even  very  rough  characters  were 
attracted  to  him,  of  which  the  following  may  be  given  as  an 
instance.  On  one  occasion  returning  home  from  Prince 
Edward  Island,  late  in  the  autumn,  a  strong  north-west 
wind  arose  and  the  waves  ran  high,  in  consequence  of  which 
they  could  not  reach  Pictou  Harbour.  The  nearest  point  they 
could  make  was  the  beach  extending  out  from  near  the  nioutli 
of  Merigomish  Harbour.  He  was  landed  here  and  his  com- 
panions set  out  on  their  return.  He  took  up  his  knapsack,  and 
was  looking  which  way  to  direct  his  course,  it  being  his  inten- 
tion to  go  to  Mr.  Roy's,  when  he  saw  a  tall  stout  man  coming 
along.  He  turned  out  to  be  an  old  soldier,  but  a  very  rough 
Irishman — a  very  strong  man,  and  one  who  had  been  noticed 
for  his  bravery  in  the  field.  The  Doctor  asked  him  the  way  to 
Mr.  Roy's.  He  said  he  would  go  with  him  to  show  him  the 
way,  and  carry  his  knapsack  for  him,  and  added,  "  If  it  would 
not  hurt  you  I  would  carry  yourself."  He  led  him  first  to  Mr. 
Roy'.s,  where  they  lodged  that  night.  In  the  morning  he  said 
that  he  would  go  with  him  to  the  East  River  and  carry  his 
i.napsack,  and  if  he  wished  to  go  farther  he  would  go  with 
hiiu. 


REV.    JAMES    JMACGREOOR,    D.D.  193 

There  was  another  class  in  whom  he  felt  a  deep  interest,  to 
which  we  may  refer,  although  his  interest  in  thcin  secured  no 
particular  result.  We  allude  to  the  Aboriginal  Indians.  He 
was  very  charitable  to  them.  Coming  along  the  Middle  River 
he  once  fell  in  with  two  Indians  drawing  an  aged  relative  on  a 
hand  sled.  Entering  into  conversation  with  them  he  discovered 
that  they  were  in  want,  and  gave  them  an  order  on  two  of  his 
pnrishioners  living  near  for  the  amount  of  their  share  of  his 
year's  support.  One  of  the  latter  remarked  to  the  Indians,  that 
he  was  better  to  them  than  their  own  priests.  They  replied, 
"  Our  priests  always  wantum,  but  he  givum."  But  he  espe- 
cially felt  an  anxiety  to  promote  their  spiritual  interests,  and 
often  talked  of  plans  for  this  end.  Some  years  later,  the  Earl 
of  Dalhousie,  then  Governor  of  the  Province,  being  in  Pictou, 
called  in  company  with  Mr.  Mortimer  to  see  him.  Conversa- 
tion having  turned  upon  the  benevolent  and  missionary  efforts 
of  the  day,  the  Doctor  said,  "  But  there  is  a  poor  unfortunate 
class  among  ourselves,  that  I  wish  we  could  do  something  for, 
I  mean  the  Indians."  "  Oh,"  said  the  Earl,  "  they  are  just 
like  the  brutes,  you  can't  do  any  thing  for  them,"  "Oh," 
said  the  Doctor  mildly,  but  very  solemnly,  "  Your  Lordship 
should  not  say  so,"  and  he  went  on  to  refer  to  the  success  of 
the  gospel  on  tribes  equally  degraded  with  them.  But  such 
was  the  jealousy  of  the  Bomish  priests,  under  whom  the  In- 
dians were,  that  he  never  succeeded  in  doing  any  thing  effectual 
for  them. 

But  the  most  interesting  of  the  services  of  these  early  times 

was  the  dispensation  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Supper,   which 

after  the  first  summer  took  place  annually.     The  event  was  the 

subject  of  preparation  for  some  time  previously.     Intimation 

was  given  several  weeks  beforehand,  and  times  were  appointed 

for  conversing  with  those  who  sought  admi.*sion  to  the  church. 

They  were  subjected  to  a  most  thorough  examination  as  to  their 

knowledge  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  their  experience  of 

its  saving  power,  and  their  perfornianceof  their  religious  duties, 

especially  secret  prayer,  and,  where  the  parties  were  heads  of 
17 


194  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

families,  family  worship  and  the  catechizing  of  their  house- 
holds. Sometimes  their  spiritual  gifts  were  tested  by  their 
being  called  on  to  engage  in  prayer  before  him.  The  Session 
also  met,  it  might  be  several  times,  when  the  conduct  of  church 
members  was  strictly  incjuired  into,  the  unruly  were  warned, 
the  erring  admonished,  differences  were  adjusted,  and  scandals 
purged. 

The  dispensation  of  the  Supper  was  the  occasion  for  the 
gathering  of  multitudes,  like  the  children  of  Irsael  assembling 
in  Jerusalem  to  their  solemn  feasts.  Not  only  did  persons  come 
from  all  parts  of  the  county  of  Pictou,  and  from  the  various 
settlements  in  Colchester,  but  numbers  travelled  from  Nine 
Mile  River,  Kennetcook,  and  other  places  in  the  county  of 
Hants,  at  a  distance  of  at  least  eighty  miles,  and  in  later  years 
some  came  from  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  houses  and  barns 
of  those  who  lived  within  a  reasonable  distance  of  the  place, 
were  freely  opened  for  the  reception  of  strangers,  and  some- 
times both  would  be  well  filled.  In  preparation  for  such  assem- 
blages we  have  heard  of  those  who  were  in  somewhat  better 
circumstances  baking  bread  by  the  barrel,  but  the  poorer  were 
equally  ready  with  the  wealthy  to  provide  as  they  were  able  for 
the  entertainment  of  strangers.  It  is  told  that  Robert  Mar- 
shall, when  providing  to  the  best  of  his  power,  for  those  who 
came  from  a  distance,  and  yet  feeling  the  humble  character  of 
the  provision  made  for  them,  was  in  the  habit  of  acknowledging 
the  fact  with  the  remark,  ''  Gin  ye're  Christians,  ye'U  be  con- 
tent wi'  it,  an'  gin  ye're  no,  it's  mair  than  ye  deserve," 

The  spot  selected  for  the  observance  of  the  ordinance  was  on 
the  Intervale,  on  the  Middle  River  a  little  below  the  bridge  at 
Archibalds,  on  what  is  now  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Douglass, 
under  the  shade  of  a  high  bank  on  the  west  side  of  the  river. 
But  the  stream  has  encroached  so  much  upon  the  Intervale, 
that  its  waters  now  puss  over  tlie  spot  where  the  sacred  Supper 
was  observed.  By  midday  the  sun  was  so  far  round,  that  the 
bank  shaded  the  worshippers  from  his  rays.  Here  a  tent  was 
placed  for  the  minister,  the  multitudes  sat  or  reclined  upon  the 


REV.    JAMES    iMACGRKGOR,    D.D.  I'JO 

green  grass  of  the  Intervale,  or  under  the  leafy  shade  of  the 
trees  on  the  bank,  facing  the  minister. 

Early  in  the  week  people  began  to  arrive,  so  that  by  the  day 
the  services  were  to  commence  they  were  assembled  by  hun- 
dreds, in  after  years  by  thousands.  The  ordinance  was  dis- 
pensed in  the  manner  common  at  that  time  in  Scotland,  and  as 
this  is  in  many  places  now  known  only  as  matter  of  history, 
we  may  give  a  particular  account  of  the  services  which  were 
usually  observed  in  connection  with  this  solemn  rite  of  Chris- 
tian worship.  Thursday  was  the  first  day  of  "  holy  convoca- 
tion," it  being  called  the  day  of  humiliation  or  fasting.  On 
this  day  two  sermons  were  preached,  one  in  English  and  the 
other  in  Gaelic.  These  discourses  were  usually  directed  to  the 
object  of  bringing  sin  to  remembrance,  and  exhorting  men  to 
confession  and  repentance.  The  Psalms  selected  bore  reference 
to  the  same  subject,  while  the  prayers  were  principally  devoted 
to  the  acknowledgment  of  sins,  and  supplications  for  mercy  on 
account  of  them.  The  remaining  part  of  the  day  was  spent 
with  the  solemnity  of  a  Sabbath,  being  devoted  to  such  secret 
and  family  religious  exercises,  as  were  suitable  to  such  a  day. 
Some,  though  not  the  majority,  observed  it  literally  as  a  fast, 
abstaining  entirely  from  food  before  preaching,  and  afterward 
partaking  only  of  such  slight  refreshment,  as  was  necessary  to 
support  nature. 

Friday  was  what  was  called  by  the  Highlanders,  "  the  day 
of  the  men," — a  day  for  private  religious  meetings  conducted 
by  the  elders,  catechists,  or  more  experienced  Christians,  simi- 
lar to  what  is  called  in  the  United  States  and  other  places,  con- 
ference meetings.  Prayer,  praise,  mutual  exhortation,  remarks 
on  the  subject  especially  selected  for  consideration,  or,  as  it  was 
commonly  called,  ''  the  question,"  (which,  however,  usually  in- 
volved marks  of  grace,)  formed  the  exercises  of  this  day. 
Saturday  was  the  preparation  day,  and  again  he  preached  a 
sermon  in  each  language,  generally  of  such  a  nature  as  was  fitted 
to  prepare  the  miads  of  Christians  for  the  solemn  services  be- 
fore them. 


196  me:motr  of  the 

The  remaining  portions  of  these  days  were  not  devoted  to 
religious  exercises,  as  the  Thursday.  Mucli  of  them  was  spent  in 
friendly  intercourse  among  the  people.  Not  only  did  all  the 
people  in  the  county  know  one  another,  but  they  generally 
knew  most  of  the  residents  in  the  neighbouring  counties. 
And  they  generally  lived  as  a  band  of  brothers.  And  these 
annual  services  were  almost  the  only  occasions  when  they  could 
meet,  and  there  was  but  little  communication  otherwise  in  the 
interval.  We  need  not  wonder  that  there  was  much  interchange 
of  friendly  feelings.  But  yet  these  meetings  in  the  several 
families  around  were  scenes  of  hallowed  Christian  fellowship. 
In  their  dwellings  was  "  heard  the  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salva- 
tion." The  conversation  led  by  the  serious,  perhaps  by  some 
hoary  headed  elder,  would  revert  to  the  sermons  of  the  day — 
perplexities  on  the  minds  of  the  enquiring  would  be  solved  by 
the  knowledge  and  experience  of  riper  Christians — kindly  ex- 
hortations to  the  young  would  be  received  with  reverence  from 
the  lips  of  the  aged — while  all  were  sanctified  by  devotional 
exercises.  In  this  way  we  believe  that  many  families,  in  the 
spiritual  profiting  derived  from  the  company  of  their  guests, 
have  had  reason  to  feel,  that  they  had  "  entertained  angels  un- 
awares." 

Then  came  the  Sabbath,  in  which  all  the  services  had  to  be 
conducted  by  himself  After  the  opening  Psalm  and  prayer, 
came  what  was  called  the  Action  Sermon,  usually  devoted  to 
the  great  central  truths  of  Redemption,  specially  exhibited  in 
the  ordinance  of  the  Supper.  This  was  followed  by  prayer  and 
praise,  and  then  by  the  service  usually  known  in  Scotland  as 
"  the  fencing  of  the  tables,"  which  consists  in  a  plain  state- 
ment of  the  character  of  those  who  have  and  those  who  have 
not  a  right  to  observe  the  ordinance,  and  which  was  generally 
concluded  by  the  reading  of  such  passages  of  Scripture  as 
Psalm  XV. ;  Matt.  v.  1-12  ;  Gal.  v.  19-24.  Then  followed  part 
of  an  appropriate  Psalm,  during  the  singing  of  which  the  elders 
brought  forward  the  elements  and  placed  them  upon  the  com- 
munion table,  while  the  first  company  of  communicants  slowly 


UEV.    JAMES    MACGllEUOll,    1>.D.  1U7 

and  reverently  took  their  places  on  the  seats,  provided  for  them. 
These  consisted  of  two  long  benches  on  which  they  sat  facinj^ 
one  another,  with  a  narrow  table  covered  with  a  pure  white  cloth 
between  them.  On  the  seats  being  filled,  the  minister  took  his 
place  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  having  first  read  as  authority 
for  observing  the  ordinance,  one  of  the  scriptural  narratives  of 
its  institution,  usually  Paul's  in  1  Cor.  si.  23-2G,  he  offered  up 
prayer,  especially  giving  thanks  for  the  blessings  of  salvation, 
and  for  this  ordinance  in  which  it  is  commemorated.  Then 
followed  what  was  called  the  "  serving  of  the  tables."  A  short 
address  was  delivered  to  those  at  the  table,  when  the  minister 
broke  the  bread  and  handed  a  portion  of  it  and  afterwards  the 
wine  to  those  nearest  to  him,  repeating  as  he  did  so  the  words 
of  institution.  The  elements  were  then  passed  along  from  one 
to  another,  to  the  foot  of  the  table,  the  attending  elders  sup- 
plying deficiencies,  while  the  minister  continued  his  exhorta- 
tion. When  the  address  was  concluded,  he  dismissed  them 
from  the  table  with  such  words  as  the  following,  "  Go  then 
from  the  table  of  the  Lord  singing  his  praise,  and  may  the 
God  of  peace  go  with  you."  At  the  utterance  of  these  words, 
the  precentor  gave  out  the  first  line  of  the  verse  immediately 
following  what  had  been  last  sung  of  the  Psalm  of  which  the 
singing  had  commenced  ;  and  as  the  singing  proceeded,  those 
who  had  been  at  the  table  rose,  and  began,  many  with  moist- 
ened eyes,  slowly  and  reverently,  as  if  treading  on  holy  ground, 
to  retire,  while  another  band  with  the  same  measured  tread  ad- 
vanced and  took  their  places.  Another  table  service  followed 
and  another  singing,  and  so  on  till  all  those  who  spoke  the  one 
language  were  served,  when  those  who  spoke  the  other  were 
served  in  a  similar  manner  in  their  native  tongue,  until  on  the 
whole  altogether  there  would  commonly  be  seven  table  services. 
After  the  service  of  communicating  was  over,  a  Psalm  or  Hymn, 
in  imitation  of  the  Saviour,  (Mark  xiv.  26,)  was  sung,  after  which 
the  minister  delivered  the  concluding  exhortation,  usually 
called  "  the  directions."  This  consisted  commonly  of  advices 
to  those  who  had  communicated,  as  to  their  future  conduct, 
17* 


198  MKMOIR    OF   THE 

and  an  earnest  appeal  to  tlios-e  "who  had  been  merely  spectators, 
to  embrace  the  Saviour  and  profess  his  name.  Then  came  the 
evening  sermon,  tlie  whole  being  concluded  with  prayer  and 
praise.  These  services  often  occupied  the  most  of  the  day. 
They  commenced  at  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  but  the  sun  would 
be  far  down  the  western  sky  before  the  last  sermon  would  be 
over.  On  Monday,  which  was  commonly  called  the  Thanks- 
giving day,  there  were  again  two  sernions. 

We  need  not  say  that  such  services  so  long  continued,  and 
conducted  entirely  by  himself  were  severe  exercises  to  him  both 
intellectually  and  physically;  and  we  need  not  wonder  at  hear- 
ing of  him  on  the  morning  of  the  first  of  these  days,  as  he 
descended  the  hill  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  where  he  came 
in  sight  of  the  crowd  collected,  stopping  for  a  moment,  and  ex- 
pressing a  wish  that  the  services  were  over.  But  while  before- 
hand he  was  diligent  in  his  preparations,  he  learned  in  the  hour 
of  need  to  cast  himself  upon  the  Lord,  and  he  was  graciously 
sustained.  The  promise  was  fulfilled,  "  It  shall  be  given  you 
in  that  same  hour  what  ye  shall  speak."  He  seemed  to  rise 
with  the  occasion,  and  in  the  vigour  and  unction  of  his  address 
to  increase  to  the  end.  Indeed  from  the  descriptions  given,  his 
efi"orts  on  these  occasions  were  the  most  astonishing  of  his  life. 
It  was  on  these  occasions,  particularly,  that  the  remarkable 
power  of  his  voice  was  exhibited.  But  few  men  could  address 
large  audiences  in  the  open  air  as  easily  as  he  could.  His 
voice  was  not  indeed  loud  nor  anything  of  what  is  called  sten- 
torian, but  it  was  beautifully  clear  and  melodious  as  a  woman's. 
There  was  not  the  least  harshness  about  it,  but  its  tones  were 
rather  plaintive  and  tender,  yet  such  was  its  compass  that  he 
was  easily  heard  over  the  largest  assembly ;  and  so  clear  was  his 
utterance,  that  he  was  heard  as  distinctly  at  the  outer  edge  of 
the  crowd,  as  at  the  very  centre.  We  have  had  places  pointed 
out  to  us  at  distances  of  half  a  mile,  where  not  only  was  his 
voice  heard,  but  the  words  were  distinguished.  And  on  the 
occasion  which  we  are  describing  it  was  remarked  that  it  in- 
creased in  clearness  and  fulness  till  the  last  day  of  the  service. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGRKGOR,    D.D.  199 

To  the  people  we  need  not  say  that  these  were  occasions  of 
deep  interest,  and  notwithstanding  the  labour  they  involved, 
they  were  seasons  of  pleasure  to  himself.  The  whole  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were  assembled  were  fitted  to  stir  the 
soul  of  both  preacher  and  congregation.  The  spot  upon  which 
they  were  met,  the  quiet  grassy  glade,  on  which  the  tables  were 
spread,  with  the  wooded  bank  in  front,  looking  down  upon  the 
river,  and  around  the  sloping  hills  covered  with  forest  then  in 
all  the  verdure  of  summer,  and  only  here  and  there  broken  by 
the  small  clearing  of  the  settler,  formed  a  scene  from  which 
the  eye  even  of  the  mere  lover  of  nature  might  drink  in  de- 
light ;  but  he  must  have  been  of  a  cold  heart,  who  could  gaze  un- 
moved on  that  multitude  assembled  under  the  broad  canopy  of 
heaven  to  engage  in  the  highest  and  holiest  rites  of  our  reli- 
gion— the  old  men  reverently  uncovered  while  their  gray  locks 
were  occasionally  stirred  by  the  summer  breeze — the  aged  wo- 
men, their  heads  covered  only  with  a  cap  and  handkerchief, 
sitting  near  the  speaker,  or,  it  might  be,  admitted  into  the  tent 
with  him, — together  with  those  in  the  prime  of  life,  the  busy 
matron  and  the  sturdy  woodsman,  the  maiden  diffidently  coming 
forward  to  join  in  covenant  with  the  heavenly  bridegroom  and 
the  children  now  first  brought  to  witness  "the  sacrament,"  and 
gazing  with  childish  curiosity  at  each  successive  service — all 
now  reverently  standing  with  bowed  heads,  the  aged  like  Jacob 
leaning  on  his  stafi",  or  in  companies  passing  slowly  to  and  from 
the  communion  table,  or  again  all  listening  with  eagerness  as 
the  sweetly  tender  tones  of  his  voice  rang  through  the  valley — 
more  especially  in  the  sacred  stillness  of  a  summer  eve,  when 
nature  seemed  hushed  in  silence,  and  the  trees  of  the  wood 
appeared  as  if  listening  to  the  voice  of  the  servant  of  God, 
while  the  far  off  echoes  sounded  as  the  response  of  the  work  of 
creation  to  the  celebration  of  redemption. 

But  we  must  especially  notice  the  singing.  Who  that  has 
heard  the  service  of  praise  at  a  Highland  sacrament  at  the  pre- 
sent day  can  have  forgotten  it  ?  The  old  tunes,  all  in  the  minor 
key,  with  their  peculiar  mournful  expression. 


200  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

"  Perhaps  Dundee's  Avild  warbling  measures  rise, 
Or  plaintive  Martyrs,  worthy  of  the  name, 

Or  noble  Elgin  beets  the  heavenward  flauie, 
The  sweetest  far  of  Scotia's  holy  lays, 

Compared  with  these,  Italian  trills  are  tame, 
Nao  unison  ha'o  they  with  our  Creator's  praise." 

The  peculiar  reading  or  chanting  of  each  line  by  the  precentor, 
previous  to  singing, — then  the  singing  with  no  accompaniment 
to  the  human  voice,  but  the  ripple  of  the  river  and  the  rustling 
of  the  forest — not  conducted  by  a  few  performers,  it  may  be, 
hired  to  do  the  praises  of  God  on  behalf  of  the  congregation, 
but  the  whole  multitude  joining  heart  and  voice,  in  a  volume 
of  melody  which  rolled  toward  heaven  as  the  voice  of  many 
waters.  "  Oh/' said  a  Lowlander  who  understood  not  a  word 
of  Erse,  "  that  Gaelic  singing,  there  is  grace  in  the  very  sough 
o'  it. 

But  to  himself  and  the  godly  of  the  land,  these  seasons  were 
especially  delightful  as  great  spiritual  festivals.  His  heart  was 
moved  for  the  multitude  fainting  for  the  bread  of  life,  and  he 
laboured  as  in  agony  for  their  salvation.  "  His  doctrine  dropped 
as  the  rain,  his  speech  distilled  as  the  dew,  as  the  small  rain 
upon  the  tender  herb,  and  as  the  showers  upon  the  grass." 
His  joy  was  fulfilled  as  he  saw  them  eagerly  listening  to  the 
word  of  life,  and  saw  so  many  whom  he  had  reason  to  regard  as 
his  spiritual  children,  feeding  as  in  green  pastures  and  beside 
the  still  waters.  While  many  a  pious  heart,  as  they  went  up  to 
these  solemnities,  instinctively  sung  in  the  words  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, '*  I  joyed  when  they  said  unto  me.  Let  us  go  into  the  house 
of  the  Lord.  Our  feet  shall  stand  within  thy  gates,  0  Jeru- 
salem,— whither  the  tribes  go  up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord,  into 
the  testimony  of  Israel,  to  give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  To  such  these  services  were  as  cold  water  to  a  thirsty 
soul.  "  The  Holy  Spirit  came  down  as  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass,  as  showers  that  water  the  earth."  The  hearts  of  be- 
lievers were  satisfied  ''  even  as  with  marrow  and  fatness,"  and 
the  "  Lord  shall  count,  when  he  writeth  up  the  people,  that  this 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREGOR,    D.D.  201 

and  that  man  was  born  here."  Multitudes  there  have  been  con- 
strained to  say,  "  How  dreadful  is  this  place !  This  is  none 
other  than  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven." 

To  no  class  were  these  services  more  interesting  than  to  the 
Highlanders,  who  came  from  a  distance.  Except  when  they 
came  to  Pictou,  or  when  he  visited  them,  they  never  heard  the 
gospel  in  their  native  language,  for  he  was  the  only  Gaelic 
speaking  minister  in  the  Lower  Provinces.  It  is  well  known, 
that  their  mountain  tongue  has  a  peculiar  influence  upon  this 
people.  But  all  the  circumstances  of  these  occasions,  the  deep 
solemnity  of  the  services,  the  earnestness  of  his  address,  the 
associations  which  it  called  up  of  their  native  land,  and  of 
similar  gatherings  there,  rendered  its  tones  still  dearer  and  more 
impressive  ;  and  with  tears  streaming  down  their  faces,  they 
eagerly  listened  for  hours  to  the  words  of  eternal  life,  in  lan- 
guage which  fell  on  their  ears  like  sweetest  music,  and  awakened 
the  most  tender  recollections.  So  deeply  were  they  afi'ected  by 
these  services,  that  it  was  quite  common  for  them  immediately 
on  their  return  home  to  look  out  for  a  purchaser  for  their  farms, 
and,  as  soon  as  they  could  sell,  to  remove  to  Pictou,  that  they 
might  be  under  the  ministry  of  Doctor  MacGregor  and  enjoy 
the  gospel  in  their  native  tongue. 

Of  the  incidents  of  these  sacraments,  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable of  which  we  have  heard  is  the  following  :  On  one 
occasion  a  very  heavy  shower  of  rain  appeared  approaching  right 
upon  the  congregation  assembled.  It  was  just  at  the  time  of 
the  change  from  the  one  language  to  the  other.  The  people 
became  quite  agitated.  He  called  upon  them  to  be  composed, 
and  engage  with  him  in  prayer.  He  then  off'ered  a  most  earn- 
est prayer,  presenting  before  his  heavenly  Father  the  case  of 
the  multitude  exposed  without  shelter,  and  earnestly  entreating 
him,  that  as  he  gathered  the  winds  in  his  fists,  and  stayed  the 
bottles  of  heaven,  that  he  would  avert  from  the  consresation 
the  threatened  torrent.  The  prayer  was  heard ;  the  cloud 
which  appeared  coming  right  upon  them  was  diverted  from  its 
course,  but  passed  so  near  them,  that  they  could  see  the  heavy 


202  MKMOIR    01'   THK 

drops  falling  into  what  was  called  the  ''deep  pool,"  and  a  few 
drops  were  felt  by  those  on  the  outer  edge  of  the  congregation. 
But  not  a  person  in  the  congregation  was  wet,  although  a  few 
yards  below  there  was  a  heavy  rain,  and  a  brook  which  emp- 
tied into  the  river  close  by  was  swollen  to  a  torrent. 

We  do  not  say  that  tliere  never  was  any  impropriety  in  the 
conduct  of  those  who  attended  these  meetings.  There  were, 
as  might  be  expected,  thoughtless  persons  who  behaved  with 
levity.  In  later  years  when  population  increased,  and  the  pro- 
gress of  trade  brought  an  influx  of  a  looser  class,  there  were 
irregularities ;  but  we  do  not  think  that  there  ever  were  those 
worst  scenes,  which  Burns  has  described  in  his  Holy  Fair. 
And  in  the  early  years  of  his  ministry,  the  utmost  decorum 
prevailed,  and  to  the  godly  they  were  scenes  of  spiritual  enjoy- 
ment, which  formed  green  spots  in  the  wastes  of  memory,  and 
indeed  few  of  that  generation  could  speak  of  them  without 
emotion  to  the  latest  hour  of  their  lives. 

Amid  these  arduous  labours,  and  the  severe  trials  which  he 
has  described,  he  for  some  time  felt  something  of  the  discour- 
agement which  he  did  on  his  first  arrival.  His  good  friend 
Donald  jNIacKay,  with  whom  he  lodged,  who,  though  having 
severe  domestic  trials,  was  a  man  of  a  cheerful  turn  of  mind, 
used  to  employ  all  his  efforts  to  enliven  his  times  of  depression. 
He  used  to  relate  the  following  as  an  instance  :  One  day  the 
Doctor  had  been  up  the  East  Biver,  and  returned  home  quite 
cast  down.  There  was  then  no  path,  and  travelling  was  along 
the  shore.  At  Fish  Pools,  there  is  an  overhanging  rock  close 
by  the  river.  When  the  water  is  low,  there  are  ledges  on  which 
one  can  pass  without  much  trouble.  But  when  the  river  is 
high,  it  is  very  difficult  getting  along,  and  if  a  person  misses 
his  footing,  the  water  is  deep,  and  he  is  certain  to  be  completely 
drenched.  On  his  way  home  he  got  into  the  water  and  was  of 
course  thoroughly  wet.  This,  added  to  some  other  discourage- 
ments he  had  met  with  through  the  day,  so  affected  him  that 
he  sat  down  in  very  low  spirits.  Donald  came  in,  and  seeing 
him   in   this  state  said,  "  You  seem   low  spirited,  what's   the 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  203 

matter."  "  Oli,"  said  ho,  "  I  am  done  out.  1  can  do  no 
more.  I  must  cjo  home."  ''Go  home!"  said  Donald, '' and 
what  will  you  do  with  those  sheep  in  the  wilderness  ?  They  'II 
be  bleating  after  you."  "  What  is  the  use  of  ray  staying  here  ? 
I  am  doing  no  good,"  was  the  Doctor's  reply.  "  But  you  are 
only  sowing  the  seed,"  Donald  rejoined.  ''  But  there  is  no  ap- 
pearance of  any  fruit."  "  Is  there  not  ?"  said  Donald  ;  "  look  at 
.  Before  you  came  here  he  was  living  utterly  regard- 
loss  of  religioii,  and  now  see  the  change  in  him."  He  then 
went  on  to  enumerate  one  instance  after  another  of  benefit  from 
his  ministrations.  The  Doctor's  heart  soon  revived,  so  that  he 
entered  with  cheerfulness  into  conversation,  and  Donald  used 
to  say  that  he  never  saw  him  so  depressed  afterward. 

Gradually,  however,  he  became  so  deeply  interested  in  his 
work,  so  strongly  attached  to  the  people,  and  saw  such  manifest 
tokens  of  the  blessing  of  God  attending  his  labours,  that  all 
his  depression  entirely  passed  away.  "Writing  in  the  year  1792 
to  the  preachers  at  home,  he  says,  "  I  have  been  here  about  six 
years,  in  as  disadvantageous  circumstances,  I  suppose,  as  any 
whom  the  Synod  ever  sent  to  this  continent;  and  though  in- 
deed I  have  been  in  it,  in  weakness,  in  fear,  in  trembling,  yet 
I  account  it  the  happiest  thing  that  ever  befell  me,  that  I  was 
sent  to  America.  I  had  my  reluctance,  my  struggle,  ere  I  set 
off,  but  I  have  reason  to  bless  God  while  I  live,  that  I  was  not 
suffered  to  comply  with  the  counsels  of  flesh  and  blood  to  stay 
at  home.  I  am  sure  that  all  the  world  would  not  keep  you  out 
of  America,  if  you  only  knew  what  it  yields." 

Indeed  it  seems  clear  that  during  these  years  a  considerable 
change  passed  over  his  character.  We  are  not  able  distinctly 
to  trace  its  progress,  but  there  seems  sufficient  evidence  of  the 
fact.  During  the  first  year  or  two  his  piety,  though  marked, 
was  not  of  the  depth  and  fervour  of  his  later  years.  We  have 
heard  an  instance,  and  only  one,  soon  after  his  arrival,  where  he 
gave  way  to  an  angry  impatience.  It  was  at  a  diet  of  examina- 
tion at  the  West  River.  It  was  held  for  the  Gaelic  people 
there,  of  whom  there  were  but  five  families.     Some  of  them 


204  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

had  been  late  in  cominjr,  which  irritated  him  a  little,  but  when  he 
began  to  examine  them  he  found  most  of  them  so  ignorant,  that 
he  lost  patience  with  them,  and  dismissed  them  with  what  was  re- 
garded as  a  very  angry  reproof.  This  was  very  different  from 
his  character  in  later  years.  In  nothing  was  he  more  distin- 
guished than  by  the  perseverance  with  which  he  laboured  to 
teach  the  ignorant,"  and  the  patience  with  which  he  bore  with 
their  slowness  to  receive  instruction. 

But  there  is  evidence  otherwise  of  the  rapid  groM'th  of  his 
piety  during  the  first  years  of  his  ministry.  The  ditHculties  by 
which  he  was  surrounded,  the  trials  he  was  called  to  endure, 
and  his  lonely  condition,  led  him  to  a  closer  walk  with  God. 
Those  who  lived  in  Donald  MacKay's  house,  could  tell  of  the 
hours  he  spent  over  his  Bible,  or  in  secret  converse  with  God. 
To  this  he  seems  to  allude  in  the  following  extract  of  an  ad- 
dress on  behalf  of  the  Pictou  Academy  : 

"  It  is  now  about  thirty-eight  years  since  I  was  missioned  by  the  Asso- 
ciate Synod  to  Pictou,  where  my  situation  for  some  years  was  so  discou- 
raging, that  I  believe  an  angel  from  heaven  could  not  have  jjersuadcd  me 
that  in  my  day  there  would  be  occasion  for  the  application  I  am  now 
making.  Pictou,  equal  in  extent  to  a  large  county,  contained  then  nearly 
ninety  families  of  various  religious  denominations,  but  chiefly  Presbyte- 
rians, and  so  scattered  that  nowhere  was  one  house  to  be  found  near  an- 
other. They  had  no  school,  no  road,  no  bridge  ;  indeed  tliey  had  scarcely 
any  convenience.  I  could  view  myself  in  no  other  light  than  that  of  an 
exile  from  social  enjoyments,  not  only  for  a  while,  but  all  my  life,  but  my 
despair  of  earthly  comforts  occasioned  a  more  active  applicatio7i  for  those 
that  were  spiritual.     I  have,  however,  enjoyed  a  good  share  of  both." 

At  all  events  the  result  was  manifest  to  those  who  came  in 
contact  with  him,  in  the  ripened  spirituality  and  the  matured 
Christian  experience  characteristic  of  his  after  life. 

It  only  remains  to  be  noticed  here  that  he  soon  reaped  an 
abundant  harvest.  The  whole  community  with  a  few  excep- 
tions were  excited  on  the  subject  of  religion,  and  a  great  change 
took  place  in  its  moral  character.  The  letters  of  his  friends  in 
our  possession,  some  of  them  written  as  early  as  1788,  all  speak 
of  their  receiving  intelligence  from  him  of  abundant  success. 
Thus  the  Rev.  A.  Pringle,  of  Perth,  writing  on  the  21st  July 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  205 

of  that  year,  and  noticing  a  letter  from  the  Doctor  of  date  17th 
September  1787,  says  : 

"  I  see  by  it  and  by  some  others  which  I  have  had  occasion  to  read,  that 
you  are  living  on  the  fatness  of  God's  house  in  the  midst  of  a  forest.  It 
is  easy  witli  our  glorious  Master  to  turn  a  wilderness  into  a  fruitful  field. 
You  say  that  you  are  happy  and  reconciled.  I  wonder  not  to  hear  you 
say  so.  Your  ministry  is  blest,  your  people  arc  prospering  in  religion, 
your  enemies  are  confounded  and  silenced,  and  your  own  soul  is  tiiriving. 
I  tliink  that  you  have  good  reason  to  sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  is  doing 
excellent  things.  I  desire  to  rejoice  witli  you  and  to  join  in  returning  all 
tlie  praise  to  our  common  Lord. 

"  You  complain  of  the  want  of  British  prayers.  I  fear  you  have  too 
just  reason.  Yet  I  hope,  that  a  warm  concern  for  the  success  of  tlie  gos- 
pel in  America  is  ratiier  on  the  increase.  I  believe,  a  letter  dropping  in 
now  and  then,  will  tend  greatly  to  quicken  us.  It  is  spring  in  Pictou,  but 
antunni  in  Scotland.  Our  valley  is  full  of  dry  bones,  but  wc  arc  living  in 
hopes  of  a  reviving  breeze  from  the  four  winds.  When  it  goes  well  with 
you,  01),  don't  forget  your  old  withered  companions." 

And  the  Rev.  P.  Buchanan  thus  writes  under  date  28th  Oct. 
1790: 

"  The  account  you  give  of  the  success  of  the  gospel  in  your 
congregation  is  comfortable  and  refreshing  indeed.  May  the 
gracious  Lord  be  pleased  to  continue  his  favour  in  this  respect, 
keep  you  and  your  congregation  humble,  that  you  may  be 
always  thankful  and  self-diffident,'  that  you  may  by  grace  be 
kept  from  saying,  'I  am  rich  and  increased  in  goods,  and  have 
need  of  nothing,'  but  another  well  qualified  minister." 

Similar  remarks  might  be  gleaned  from  the  letters  of  other 
correspondents.  But  to  all  around  the  change  on  the  commu- 
nity was  visible.  A  writer  in  the  Acadian  Recorder  for  1826, 
says : 

"I  was  in  Pictou  when  its  oldest  clergyman.  Doctor  MacGrcgor,  began 
the  exercise  of  his  ministry  among  us.  I  could  not  imagine  that  he 
would  be  able  to  continue  among  us,  for  the  people  were  few,  and  scattered 
over  a  large  territory  ;  none  of  tliem  were  rich,  and  they  were  of  different 
religious  denominations,  though  I  must  acknov^lcdge  to  their  honour  that 
they  conducted  their  divisions  with  mutual  candour  and  forbearance.  But 
after  a  little  time,  I  found  that  the  clergyman  enjoyed  the  good  will,  the 
approbation,  and  esteem,  of  almost  all  the  inhabitants.  They  came  far  and 
18 


20G  MEMOIR    OF    TJIK 

near  to  hear  liim,  by  land  and  by  water,  tliough  there  were  no  roads,  and  but 
few  boats  (but  canoes)  in  tlic  place;  anil  tlioy  heard  not  in  vain.  He  in 
I'.is  turn  travelled  early  and  late  to  visit  them  ni  their  houses,  to  press  upon 
them  all  the  duties  of  domestic  piety.  His  labour  was  not  lost.  Piety 
and  benevolence  sprung'  up  apace.  Decency  of  conduct,  peace  and  har- 
mony among-  nciglibours,  with  frujrality  and  industry,  flourished  in  Pictou 
flir  many  a  year.  Often  have  I  heard  the  happy  state  of  Pictou  envied  in 
the  neighbouring  settlements." 

The  result  of  Ills  labours  appeared  in  the  complete  change 
whicli  passed  over  the  moral  and  relitiious  condition  of  the  com- 
munity. It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  community  any  where 
in  which  the  ordinances  of  relip;ion  were  as  regularly  and  uni- 
versally observed,  and  tlic  practical  duties  of  godliness  as  con- 
scientiously discharged,  as  they  were  throughout  the  district  of 
Pictou.  And  this  character  it  has  in  a  good  measure  retained. 
There  has  been  degeneracy — there  has  been  an  infusion  of  other 
elements  with  the  worst  results,  but  though  the  lustre  of  its 
early  piety  has  been  sometimes  tarnished,  it  has  never  been  ex- 
tinguished. As  a  whole  Ave  have  never  seen  a  community  in 
which  all  the  duties  of  religion  are  as  universally  observed — 
and  we  have  reason  to  hope  that  the  seed  sown  will  not  be  ex- 
tinguished to  the  latest  posterity. 


REV.    JAMEb    JMACGllEGOU,    D.D.  207 


CHAPTER    X . 

FIUST    JOURNEY    TO    nilNCE   EDWARD    ISLAND,    WITH    AN    AC- 
COUNT   OP    THAT    COLONY,  1791. 

"Tho  Islos  shall  Avait  for  his  law." — Isa.  xlii.  4. 

The  next  and  one  of  his  most  important  missionary  journeys 
was  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  as  that  portion  of  the  church 
enjoyed  a  larger  share  of  his  missionary  labours,  than  any  other 
place,  except  Pictou,  as  he  was  the  means  o^  2)Ianting  the  gos- 
pel through  a  very  large  portion  of  it,  and  as  the  cause  of  re- 
ligion throughout  its  extent  is  deeply  indebted  to  him,  we  shall 
give  a  brief  account  of  its  history  and  physical  features. 

Prince  Edward  Island,  formerly  called  St.  Johns,  lies  to  the 
south  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  intervening  between  it 
and  the  Coasts  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick,  from  which 
it  is  separated  by  the  Straits  of  Northumberland,  a  channel  va- 
rying in  width  from  nine  to  forty  miles.  In  its  general  form 
it  resembles  a  crescent,  lying  in  a  direction  from  North  West, 
to  South  East,  with  its  hollow  part  toward  the  Gulf  Its  great- 
est length  is  about  134  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth  about  S-i. 
But  it  is  throughout  so  deeply  indebted  by  bays  and  inlets  of 
the  sea,  that  scarcely  any  part  is  distant  more  than  seven  or 
eight  miles  from  the  influx  of  the  tide.  It  contains  an  area  of 
2,134  square  miles,  or  1,360,000  acres. 

The  surface  presents  a  very  different  aspect  from  the  adjoining 
portions  of  the  main  land,  being  generally  level,  scarcely  ever 
rising  to  any  great  elevation.  The  central  portions,  which  are 
the  most  uneven,  never  rise  into  mountains,  but  form  a  suc- 
cession of  ridges,  which  present  an  agreeable  variety  of  hill  and 


208  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

dale.  Nowhere  is  the  scenery  grand,  but  every  "where  it  is 
picturesque  and  beautiful. 

The  soil  is  light  and  sandy,  upon  a  stiflf  clay  subsoil,  which 
again  rests  on  a  very  soft  sandstone.  It  is  generally  of  a  liuht 
red  colour,  is  remarkably  free  from  stones,  and  is  every  where 
fertile,  while  it  is  never  interrupted  by  those  rocky  tracts,  which 
abound  in  Xova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  It  is  peculiarly 
adapted  for  the  raising  of  grain,  but  is  not  so  well  adapted 
for  grazing  purposes,  as  some  portions  of  the  neighbouring 
colonies. 

This  island  was  first  colonized  by  the  French,  a  number  of 
whose  descendants  remain  on  it  till  the  present  day.  Uut  at 
the  capitulation  of  Louisburg  in  1758,  it  fell  into  the  possession 
of  the  British,  to  whom  it  was  confirmed  by  the  treaty  of  17G3. 
It  continued  part  of  the  Government  of  Nova  Scotia  till  the 
year  1770,  when  it  obtained  a  government  of  its  own.  In  its 
early  history  a  fatal  error  was  committed,  which  has  ever  since 
been  a  cause  of  discontent,  and  which  has  materially  retarded 
its  prosperity  to  the  present  day.  In  one  day  in  the  year  1767, 
the  whole  soil  of  the  Island,  with  some  inconsiderable  excep- 
tions, was  granted  by  the  Home  Government,  in  67  townships, 
of  about  20,000  acres  each,  to  individuals  supposed  to  possess 
claims  upon  it,  chiefly  officers  of  the  army  and  navy,  who  had 
served  in  the  preceding  war.  But  what  has  chiefly  hindered 
the  settlement  of  the  country,  has  been  the  terms  upon  which 
the  proprietors  have  given  their  land  to  settlers.  They  in 
general  have  refused  to  give  freehold  titles,  or  if  they  did,  the 
prices  were  entirely  too  high.  But  commonly  they  have  given 
only  leaseholds,  a  system  against  which  there  is  in  America  an 
invincible  repugnance,  so  that  the  best  class  of  British  emigrants 
have  been  attracted  to  other  colonies. 

By  the  terms  of  their  grants,  the  proprietors  were  bound  to 
settle  their  lots  within  ten  years,  to  the  extent  of  at  least  one 
person  for  every  two  hundred  acres.  Little,  however  was  done 
to  fulfil  this  obligation,  and  in  the  instances  in  which  proprie- 
tors made  an  effort  to  do  so,  their  arrangements  were  so  badly 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  209 

made,  that  settlers  were  landed  in  a  state  of  entire  destitution, 
and  sometimes  almost  perished  with  hunger.  It  is  even  said 
that  there  were  cases  where  in  their  extremity  individuals  had 
eaten  human  flesh.  About  the  year  1771,  some  settlers  arrived 
from  Argyleshire,  who  settled  on  the  west  side  of  llichmond 
]xiy.  A  year  later  a  few  more  from  the  same  quarter  settled 
at  Princetown.  About  the  same  time,  a  considerable  body  of 
Highland  Catholics,  brought  out  by  Capt.  MacDonald,  settled 
at  Tracadie.  About  the  year  1774  and  1775,  a  number  of 
others  from  Perthshire  settled  at  Cove  Head,  St.  Peters,  &c., 
and  a  few  from  Morayshire  at  Cavendish,  and  a  number  from 
Pumfrieshire  at  Georgetown,  and  other  places  in  its  neighbour- 
hood. At  the  peace  of  1784,  a  number  of  Loyalists  arrived, 
who  settled  principally  at  Bedeque.  These  were  the  principal 
settlements  that  had  been  made  up  till  the  time  of  the  Doctor's 
first  visit.  The  number  of  inhabitants  at  that  time  was  small, 
and  these  were  widely  scattered.  We  may  remark  that,  not- 
withstanding the  disadvantages  under  which  the  island  has 
been  placed,  it  has  in  subsequent  years  rapidly  increased  in 
wealth  and  population. 

Our  readers,  however,  may  suppose  that  at  that  time  the  coun- 
try was  both  physically  and  socially  in  a  very  backward  condi- 
tion. There  was  not  a  road  on  the  island,  with  the  exception 
of  one  between  Charlotte  Town  and  Cove  Head.  There  was 
scarcely  even  a  blaze  between  other  settlements.  The  greater 
part  of  the  travelling  was  along  shore,  and  there  is  one  pecu- 
liarity of  the  island,  which  rendered  this  particularly  difficult, 
viz.,  the  number  of  deep  creeks  and  inlets  of  the  sea,  which 
either  rendered  a  long  circuit  necessary  to  go  round  them,  or 
else  must  be  crossed  in  canoes.  Thus  from  Charlotte  Town  to 
Princetown,  the  course  was  to  proceed  up  the  banks  of  the 
Hillsborough,  then  cross  to  Cove  Head,  and  thence  to  proceed 
along  the  north  shore  of  the  island.  The  physical  appearance 
of  the  country,  and  the  social  state  of  the  inhabitants  will  more 
particularly  appear  from  his  own  narrative,  to  which  we  now 
return. 
18* 


210  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

'<  I  tliink  it  was  this  summer,  (1790,)*  that  I  paid  the  first 
visit  to  (  St.  John)  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  session  ap- 
pointed me  two  Sabbaths  to  St.  Peter's  and  two  to  Cove  Head. 
Having  taken  a  passage  to  Charlotte  Town,  the  metropolis, 
sixty  miles  from  Pictou  harbour,  I  landed  next  day,  after  an 
agreeable  passage.  In  a  few  minutes  I  found  Charlotte  Town 
to  be  wicked  enough  for  a  far  larger  town.  Swearing  and 
drunkenness  abounded.  I  was  directed  to  a  Mr.  Ilae,  a  Scotch 
merchant,  a  sober  man,  with  whom  I  lodged  agreeably. 

"  Next  day,  I  hired  a  horse,  and  rode  out  to  Cove  Head,  six- 
teen miles,  on  an  agreeable  road.  Near  the  end  of  my  journey 
I  missed  my  way,  and  calling  at  a  house  for  information,  met 
the  landlord  at  the  door,  and  asked  him  to  show  me  the  way  to 
Mr.  Millar's.  Pointing  with  his  hand  across  a  creek  or  small 
bay,  he  said,  *  There  is  Mr.  Millar's.  You  have  missed  your 
way  a  little ;  but  I  will  send  a  boy  round  with  the  hor?e,  and 
put  you  across  the  creek  in  a  canoe,  and  your  way  will  be 
shorter  than  if  you  had  not  missed  it.  Please  to  walk  in,  and 
rest  a  little.'  I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  accepted  his  in- 
vitation, and  he  gave  my  horse  to  a  boy  to  take  to  Mr.  Millar's. 
I  found  the  inside  of  the  house  well  furnished,  and  much  more 
handsome  and  genteel  than  the  outside  warranted  one  to  expect. 
I  was  quite  surprised  at  seeing  a  good-like  library,  and  a  large 
one,  considering  the  place,  I  was  most  agreeably  entertained 
while  I  stayed.  The  gentleman  easily  found  out  what  I  was, 
and  expressed  his  happiness  that  a  Presbyterian  minister  had 
come  to  visit  the  Presbyterians  there;  but  I  had  no  courage 
to  attempt  ascertaining  what  he  was.  He  accompanied  me  to 
Mr.  Millar's,  and  addressed  him  thus :  '  Mr.  Millar,  I  have 
brought  you  what  you  have  been  long  wishing  for,  a  Presbyte- 
rian minister,  and  I  hope  he  will  do  you  much  good.'  Mr.  Millar 
thanked  him  affectionately,  and  after  a  little  conversation  the 
gentleman  returned  home.  After  a  cordial  welcome  from  Mr. 
Millar,  and  mutual  inquiries  after  one  another's  health,  I  asked 
who  the  gentleman  might  be  ?  He  replied,  'It  is  parson  Des 
*  From  his  Memorabilia  we  learu  that  this  first  visit  was  in  1791. 


REV.    JAMES    MACaREOOR,    D.D.  211 

Brisay,  the  Church  of  England  clergyman  of  the  island,  a  Cal. 
vinis^tiG  preacher,  a  man  of  liberal  scutinicnts,  and  of  a  benevolent 
disposition.*  '  And  where  does  he  preach  ?  '  He  rides  every 
Sabbath  to  Charlotte  Town,  and  preaches  in  the  church  there.' 
*  And  why  does  he  not  reside  in  town  ?'  '  It  is  a  wicked  place, 
and  he  is  more  retired  and  happy  in  the  country.'  I  afterwards 
became  acquainted  with  him,  and  was  always  welcome  to  preach 
in  his  church,  which  I  uniformly  did  when  I  could  make 
it  convenient.     His  kindness  ended  not — but  with  his  life." 

This  gentleman  is  worthy  of  more  particular  notice.  He 
was  a  descendant  of  the  exiled  Huguenots  of  France,  and  had 
been  originally  a  Presbyterian.  AVhen  called  upon  to  baptize 
the  children  of  Presbyterians,  he  performed  the  service  accord- 
ing to  their  mode,  omitting  the  sign  of  the  cross  and  praying 
extempore.  He  had  entered  the  ministry  with  no  just  impres- 
sions of  its  duties  and  responsibilities.  Describing  to  Doctor 
Keir  afterward  his  state  at  that  time,  he  said,  "  The  Bishop 
asked  me  whether  I  had  received  the  Holy  Ghost, — poor  Des 
Brisay  had  not  so  much  as  heard  whether  there  be  any  Holy 
Ghost."  He,  however,  became  a  devoted  Christian,  and  deci- 
dedly evangelical  and  Calvinistic  in  his  views,  through  the 
reading  of  the  works  of  John  Brown  of  Haddington,  lent  him  by 
Mr.  Millar.  He  then  preached  boldly  and  faithfully — preached 
"  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus  ;"  and  Charlotte  Town,  as  the  Doc- 
tor remarks,  at  that  time  abounding  in  wickedness,  he  faithfully 
reproved  the  prevailing  sins  in  the  highest  as  well  as  the  low- 
est, even  when  his  doing  so  gave  great  offence  in  high  quarters, 
and  among  his  own  relatives. 

But  he  was  particularly  distinguished  by  his  catholicity  of 
spirit.  All  the  ministers  of  our  church,  who  visited  the  island 
in  his  time,  were  welcome  to  the  use  of  his  church  to  preach 
in,  and  they  frequently  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege. 
He  even  invited  them  to  preach  for  him,  he  going  through  the 
Church  of  England  service,  while  they  preached  afterwards. 
On  one  occasion  the  late  Rev.  Duncan  Ross  was  in  Charlotte 
Town,  in  company  with  Robert  Marshall,     At  the  end  of  the 


212  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

week,  having  failed  in  obtaining  a  passage  home,  Mr.  Des  Bri- 
say  asked  him  to  preach  fur  him  on  Sabbath.  Mr.  lloss  con- 
sented, and  asked  at  what  time  the  service  would  begin  ?  "  Oh  !'' 
said  Mr.  J).,  '■'■you  may  come  about  12  o'clock  ;  I  begin  my  ser- 
vices at  11,  but  1  know  that  you  don't  care  for  them,  and  Deacon 
Marshall  hates  them."  The  late  Doctor  Keir  mentioned  to  the 
author,  that  on  his  arrival  on  the  island,  Mr.  D.  had  treated 
him  with  great  kindness,  and  continued  to  do  so  as  long  as  he 
lived.  AVe  feel  it  due  to  his  memory  in  this  connection  to 
bear  this  testimony  to  his  liberality  of  spirit  and  kindness  of 
heart, 

"  I  found  that  Mr.  Millar  was  from  the  parish  of  Muthil, 
twelve  miles  from  Loch  Earne,  where  I  was  born.  He  told  me 
of  Mr.  Lawson,  MacEwan,  and  others,  who  came  out  at  the  same 
time.  At  hearing  Mr.  Lawson's  name,  I  instantly  recollected 
that  when  I  was  a  little  boy,  I  heard  much  talk  of  a  Mr.  Law- 
son  and  others  going  out  to  America.  They  were  decoyed  out 
by  one  of  the  great  proprietors  to  settle  his  land.  They  were 
to  pay  a  shilling  of  rent  per  acre,  and  they  thought  it  cheap  till 
they  came  out  and  saw  it;  but  then  they  found  it  dear  enough. 
After  them  came  a  number  from  Dumfriesshire,  who  settled 
here  and  in  St.  Peter's.  On  their  first  arrival  they  were  like 
to  perish  with  hunger,  as  the  few  settlers  who  were  before  them 
had  little  enough  for  themselves;  and  they  could  not  all  have 
lived,  had  not  a  number  of  them  got  over  to  Pictou,  and  ob- 
tained relief  there  from  the  old  settlers." 

The  intercourse  with  these  people  was  peculiarly  pleasant,  as 
they  were  from  the  neighbourhood  of  his  native  parish.  This 
itself  afforded  the  means  of  much  interesting  and  pleasing  con- 
ference, particularly  as  the  instances  were  very  few,  after  his 
arrival  in  this  country,  where  he  met  with  any  such.  But  in  ad- 
dition, he  met  with  some  who  were  acquainted  with  his  relatives. 
We  have  seen  a  spinning-wheel  wliich  was  one  of  a  number 
brought  out  by  them,  made  by  an  uncle  of  his,  and  which  though 
now  about  a  century  old  is  still  fit  for  service.  And  in  one  in- 
stance, if  not  more,  he  met  with  an  old  school-fellow.     The  fol- 


REV.    JAMES    MACGIlEGOIl,    D.D.  213 

lowing  used  to  be  related  by  the  late  jMr.  John  Anderson,  who 
lived  at  the  cast  point  of  Prince  Edward  Ishind.  On  the  Doc- 
tor's first  visit  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  after  Mr.  Anderson's 
arrival  in  the  country,  the  latter  having  lieard  that  a  Presby- 
terian minister  had  come  to  Charlotte  Town,  proceeded  thither 
to  meet  him.  At  tliat  time  there  was  no  road  through  the 
country;  but  all  who  travelled  had  to  keep  along  shore,  and 
cross  the  rivers  and  bays  at  the  outlet,  (for  there  were  no 
bridges,)  in  canoes  or  boats,  till  they  came  to  Cove  Head. 
Then  they  came  across  the  portage  to  the  Hillsborough,  and 
down  along  its  banks  to  Charlotte  Town  So  eager  was  he  to 
have  an  interview  with  a  minister,  that  he  set  out  on  foot,  and 
travelled  on  as  rapidly  as  lie  could  till  he  reached  town,  which 
he  did  early  in  the  morning.  On  inquiring  for  the  minister, 
he  was  told  that  he  had  not  yet  risen,  being  wearied  with  his 
labours.  The  Doctor  on  learning  that  a  person  wished  to  see 
him,  sent  for  him  to  his  bed-room.  On  comparing  notes,  they 
found  that  they  had  lived  at  the  same  place  in  Scotland,  and 
attended  the  same  school.  The  Doctor  at  first  could  not  make 
him  understand  who  he  was.  At  last  he  asked,  "  Do  you  not 
mind  a  little  boy  called  Jemmy  Drummond?"  "Oh  yes,  and 
are  you  Jemmy  Drummond  ?"  This  the  old  man  used  to  relate 
with  a  glistening  eye  and  a  full  heart. 

The  Mr.  Millar  mentioned  above  was  a  very  pious  and  intel- 
ligent man.  He  was  one  of  the  few  out  and  out  Seceders  then 
in  the  country,  having  been  a  member  of  3Ir.  Barlas'  congre- 
gation in  Crieff,  in  which  the  Doctor  was  brought  up,  and  was 
well  versed  in  Theology.  The  Doctor  and  he  became  great 
friends,  but  they  differed  widely  on  the  New  Light  question ; 
Mr.  Millar  being  a  strong  Old  Light  mnn,  and  a  vehement  advo- 
cate for  the  employment  of  the  power  of  the  civil  ^MaL^strate  in 
the  suppression  of  heresy.  On  one  occasion  when  the  Doctor 
was  at  his  house,  they  got  into  conversation  on  the  subject. 
While  the  Doctor  was  shaving,  Millar  spoke  for  some  time  with 
considerable  vehemence  on  the  subject.  It  seemed  to  excite 
the  Doctor  a  little,  for  be  said,  "  Stop,  stop,  you  have  made  me 


214  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

cut  myself.  Let  us  talk  of  those  things  about  Christ  in  which 
we  agree  till  our  hearts  yd  warm,  and  then  we  will  discuss  these 
points  afterwards," — a  good  advice  in  reference  to  all  discus- 
sions among  professing  Christians  regarding  the  course  they 
should  pursue  as  to  those  points  on  which  they  diflfer. 

"  The  people  of  Cove  Head  and  St.  Peter's  were  not  without 
knowledge,  for  they  liad  good  books,  which  they  lent  to  one 
another,  and  the  roads  to  Charlotte  Town  being  tolerable,  they 
had  opportunities  at  times  of  hearing  Mr.  Des  Brisay.  Never- 
theless, they  rejoiced  greatly  in  the  visit  of  a  Presbyterian  min- 
ister, and  heard  the  gospel  with  every  appearance  of  delight. 
Some  of  them  got  their  children  baptized  regularly  by  Mr.  Des 
Brisiiy  ;  some  would  not  employ  him  on  any  account;  and  oth- 
ers did  not  know  what  to  do.  Some,  after  waiting  for  the 
chance  of  a  Presbyterian  minister  till  they  had  four  children, 
gave  up  hopes  and  npplicd  to  him.  To  some  I  baptized  two, 
three,  four,  and  to  one  man  sis  children.  These  two  settle- 
ments, which  are  sixteen  miles  apart,  united  in  a  petition  to 
the  Synod  for  a  minister,  which  I  undertook  to  forward,  telling 
them  at  the  same  tiu)e  that  there  were  two  applications  before 
theirs  unanswered.  I  preached  two  Sabbaths  at  each  of  the 
places;  the  first  and  last-at  Cove  Head,  because  it  was  nearest 
Charlotte  Town,  whence  I  expected  to  sail  for  Pictou,  and  I 
wished  to  be  at  Charlotte  Town  as  soon  as  possible  after  my 
work  was  done,  that  I  might  not  miss  a  passage,  as  one  was 
seldom  to  be  found. 

''  After  sermon  the  fourth  Sabbath,  a  man  from  Priucetown, 
thirty  miles  west  of  Cove-Head,  waited  on  me  with  a  petition 
from  the  people  of  Princetown  to  visit  them,  and  spend  a  few 
Sabbaths  aiuong  them,  as  they  had  not  seen  a  minister  since 
their  first  settlement  there.  This  petition  involved  me  in  a 
great  dilemma,  as  the  time  allowed  me  by  the  Session  was  now 
out,  and  if  I  went  at  all,  1  could  not  decently  give  them  less 
than  two  Sabbaths  more,  and  1  did  not  know  how  many  weeks 
more  I  might  have  to  wait  for  a  passage.  On  weighing  the 
case,  I  judged  it  my  duty  to  comply,  and  set  oflf  with  the  man 


IlEV.    JAMES    MAOOUEGOU,    D.D.  215 

on  Monday  morning,  sometimes  walking,  sometimes  riding,  and 
sometimes  sailing.  Our  way  was  chiefly  along  shore,  at  times 
on  a  beautiful  beach  of  fine  sand,  and  at  times  among  rocks  and 
stones  almost  impassable  ;  while  at  the  ferries  we  had  to  ven- 
ture in  small  canoes,  and  (ow  the  horse  after  us.  The  island 
horses  are  used  to  swimming,  and  in  this  manner  often  cross 
ferries  half  a  mile  wide.  One  hors3  swam  across  Ilichmond 
Bay,  which  is  six  miles  over.  The  man  informed  me  that  the 
1^'incetown  people  had  mostly  emigrated  from  Cantyre  in  Argyle- 
shire,  nearly  twenty  years  before,  and  had  been  all  that  time 
destitute  of  tlie  gospel  :  that  ignorance  abounded  j  that  secret 
and  family  prayer  was  generally,  if  not  universally,  neglected  ; 
and  that  there  were  about  sixty  unbaptized  children  in  the  set- 
tlement; and  that  the  common  way  of  obtaining  baptism  was 
by  carrying  the  children  to  Charlotte  Town  to  Jlr.  Des  Brisay, 
who,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Church  of  England,  made 
no  difference  between  the  children  of  the  most  profane  and  of 
the  most  holy,  but  baptized  them  all.  Thinking  upon  these 
things  I  was  brought  to  my  wit's  end,  for  I  could  not  baptize 
the  children  of  people  so  ignorant  and  negligent  ;  yet,  if  I  re- 
fused to  baptize  them  they  would  not  believe  me  to  be  a  true 
minister,  or  to  know  anything  about  the  gospel.  But  I  had 
one  great  comfort  : — 'Go  disciple  them,  baptizing  them — teach- 
ing them;  and,  lo  !  I  am  with  you.' 

"  We  reached  Princetown  on  Monday  evening,  and  I  lodged 
with  Donald  Montgomery  all  the  time  I  stayed.  I  do  not  know 
if  I  took  the  best  way  for  doing  good  to  the  people,  but  I  took 
the  way  I  thought  best.  I  preached  only  the  Sabbath-days, 
and  employed  all  the  week-days  in  conversation,  especially  with 
those  who  had  children  to  baptize.  I  sent  information  through 
the  settlement  that  I  would  baptize  no  children  till  I  had  con- 
versed with  their  parents,  and  was  convinced  that  they  meant 
to  live  like  good  Christians,  and  bring  up  their  children  as 
such.  I  concerted  with  Donald  Montgomery  to  divide  the  set- 
tlement into  two  parts,  one  for  each  week,  and  each  part  into 
five  sub-divisions  for  five  days  of  each   week,   directing  each 


216  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

sub-division  to  come  as  regularly  as  matters  would  allow.  By 
a  little  conversation  1  generally  found  out  what  instruction  they 
uiost  needed.  Though  sometimes  tliree  or  four  were  with  me 
at  once,  I  gave  le^s  or  more  instruction  to  every  individual. 
They  were  especially  deficient  in  their  views  of  the  odiousness 
of  sin  before  God,  of  tlieir  guilt  and  defilement  by  it,  of  the 
danger  of  depending  on  their  own  righteousness  (indeed,  this 
was  their  main  trust,  though  they  would  instantly  agree  that 
their  good  works  could  not  save  them),  and  in  their  knowledge 
of  tlie  character,  offices,  and  work  of  Christ,  and  of  the  nature 
of  his  salvation  ;  as  also  of  the  office  and  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  Prayer  was  neglected.  They  did  not  work  on  Sab- 
batli,  but  it  was  not  kept  holy  to  the  Lord.  Few  were  guilty 
of  any  flagrant  violation  of  the  duties  of  the  second  table  of  the 
law,  yet  few  had  any  just  conceptions  of  them. 

"  I  admitted  to  baptism  all  who  agreed  to  the  fullowing 
things  : — First,  That  as  sin,  death,  and  the  curse  came  into  the 
world  by  Adam  ;  so  pardon,  life,  and  the  blessing  came  by 
Christ.  Secondly,  That  they  renounced  all  dependence  upon 
their  own  righteousness,  and  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
for  salvation  from  sin  and  misery.  Thirdly,  That  as  they  had 
been  hitherto  careless  and  ignorant,  they  must  henceforth 
be  diligent  to  grow  up  in  religious  knowledge.  Fourthly, 
That  as  they  depended  on  God  for  every  blessing  for  them- 
selves and  their  families,  so  they  purposed  to  pray  to  him, 
and  worship  him  every  morning  and  evening  in  the  family 
and  closet. 

"  Also,  I  made  inquiry  of  neighbours,  as  circumstances  would 
allow,  concerning  the  moral  conduct  of  each  applicant,  and  where 
there  were  particular  exceptions,  I  exacted  a  promise  of  reforma- 
tion. This  was  all  the  preparation  for  baptism  to  which  I  thought 
I  could  attain,  and  of  some  I  had  good  hopes  ;  but  of  others  I  liad 
great  reason  for  fears.  Indeed,  the  two  weeks  which  I  passed 
at  Princetown,  were  the  two  most  anxious  which  I  ever  passed 
in  this  world;  to  which  the  following  incident  greatly  con- 
tributed. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  217 

"  When  I  came  to  the  tent  on  Sabbatli,  I  found  a  crowd  of 
people  ( not  a  hirge  assembly),  all  standing  and  talking,  as  I 
had  seen  in  the  fairs  of  Scotland,  as  if  they  had  met  on  a  week- 
day for  some  secular  business.  I  desired  them  to  sit  down  and 
be  silent,  as  we  were  to  begin  the  public  worship  of  God.  Some 
obeyed,  but  the  greater  part  continued  standing  and  talking. 
I  called  to  silence  a  second  and  a  third  time,  and  some  more 
obeyed;  but  others  did  not.  The  only  plan  I  could  then  think  of 
was  to  read  the  psalm  so  loud  as  to  drown  their  voices,  and  af- 
ter a  little  it  had  the  desired  effect.  The  first  sermon  was  in 
Gaelic,  and  at  the  end  of  it  I  baptized  the  children  of  the  High- 
landers. In  the  afternoon  the  talk  was  not  so  loud  nor  so  stub- 
born ;  it  was,  however,  sufficiently  discouraging,  though  an 
evident  reformation  had  taken  place.  At  the  close  of  the  ser- 
mon I  baptized  a  number  of  children  in  English — in  all,  about 
thirty. 

"  I  spent  the  second  week  much  as  the  first,  and  on  the  sec- 
ond Sabbath  I  baptized  about  thirty  more  children.  Between 
the  Sabbaths  I  rode  to  a  neighbouring  settlement,  and  baptized 
six  children  to  one  man.  Of  all  that  applied  for  baptism  about 
Princetown,  I  rejected  only  one  man,  who  absolutely  refused  to 
keep  up  the  worship  of  God  in  his  family,  and  he  went  the 
next  day  and  got  his  child  baptized  by  a  Popish  priest.*  I 
believe  numbers  more  would  have  done  the  same  had  they  been 
refused. 

"I  had  great  fears  that  many  of  them  would  turn  out  a  disgrace 
to  religion  and  to  me ;  but  herein  I  have  been  happily  disap- 
pointed. Durirfg  the  week  several  came  to  me,  inquiring  if  I 
could  direct  them  how  to  get  a  minister  to  Princetown.  I  de- 
sired them  to  consult  among  themselves,  and  promised,  that  if 
they  agreed  about  it,  I  would  write  a  petition  for  them,  and 
forward  it  home.  I  wrote  it,  accordingly,  and  it  was  subscribed 
after  sermon;  but  I  had  to  tell  them  that  I  was  afraid  it  would 
not  be  soon  answered,  as  there  were  two  others  besides — from 


*  This  man,  who  was  named  MacDonald,  continued  a  Papist,  and  his  de- 
scendimts  belong  to  the  same  persuasion  to  this  day. 
19 


218  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

Cove  Head  and  St.  Peter's — that  sliould  be  answered  before  it, 
and  that  I  perceived  that  young  ministers  were  backward  to 
come  to  this  country.  I  promised,  however,  to  do  my  best 
for  them. 

"When  I  was  at  Princetown  I  went,  by  invitation,  to  a 
neighbour's  house  to  breakfas't;  and  when  it  was  over,  I  told 
tliein  that,  as  they  hud  been  so  h)ng  witliout  a  minister  to  tell 
them  their  duty,  I  was  afraid  they  neglected  the  worship  of 
Crod.  Tlie  head  of  the  family  replied  that  they  did.  I  said 
that  it  was  not  enough  that  every  individual  in  the  family  wor- 
shipped God  in  secret — the  family  should  worship  God  together, 
because  they  committed  many  family  sins,  and  enjoyed  many 
family  mercies,  and  needed  many  more  •  and  that,  if  they  had 
no  objection,  I  would  perform  it  on  this  occasion,  as  a  directory 
for  them.  lie  replied,  that  they  would  be  much  obliged 
to  me.  Having  got  the  Bible,  I  sung  a  short  psalm,  read 
a  chapter,  kneeled  and  prayed;  but  none  of  the  family  cither 
sung  or  kneeled  —  whence  I  inferred  that  they  had  never 
seen  family  worship  before,  and,  of  course,  that  it  was  not  com- 
mon in  the  country.  But  I  had  not  confidence  to  tell  them 
of  it. 

"  I  took  an  opportunity  to  ask  of  ])onald  JMontgomery  how 
it  happened  that  there  was  so  much  gabbling  at  the  beginning 
of  public  worsliip  on  the  first  Sabbath,  and  not  on  the  second. 
He  replied  that  he  and  others  were  ashamed  of  it;  and  that  it 
was  owing,  in  part,  to  some  lloman  Catholics  that  were  there, 
and  in  part  to  their  youngsters  born  there  ;  for  none  of  them 
ever  heard  a  sermon,  and  some  of  them  were  nineteen  years  of 
a"e  " 

The  only  other  fact  worthy  of  mention  that  we  have  been 
able  to  gather  regarding  his  first  visit  to  Princetown,  is  that  at 
the  time  there  was  a  malignant  fever  prevailing  there,  after- 
ward called  the  Highland  fever,  so  called  because  it  had  been 
introduced  by  a  number  of  Highland  emigrants  that  had  arrived 
shortly  before.  They  were  landed  on  the  beach,  and  placed  in 
a  shed,  where  they  were  much  exposed  to  the  inclemencies  of 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREUOH,    D.J).  219 

the  weather.  It  proved  very  fatal  among  them,  and  also  ex- 
tended to  the  families  already  residing  in  the  place.  The  Doc- 
tor visited  them,  prayed  with  them,  and  he  also  exhorted  the 
people  to  take  them  into  their  houses,  which  at  his  request, 
some  of  them  did. 

"  I  was  so  concerned  for  my  passage  home,  all  the  time  I  was 
at  Princetown  that  I  seldom  neglected,  in  my  addresses  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  to  beg  of  my  heavenly  Father,  that  if  it  was 
agreeable  to  his  will  he  would  provide  me  a  passage,  so  that  I 
could  be  home  the  following  Sabbath  j  and,  accordingly,  I  re- 
solved to  leave  Princetown  early  on  Monday  morning,  lest,  by 
a  little  delay,  I  should  lose  a  passage;  but  before  I  got  ready, 
numbers  came  to  bid  me  farewell,  so  that  I  was  detained  a 
while,  and  could  hardly  tear  myself  from  them;  and,  having  to 
call  at  some  houses  in  Cove  Head,  I  was  obliged  to  stay  there 
all  night,  and  heard  nothing  of  a  passage.  Early  on  Tuesday 
morning  I  set  off  for  Charlotte  Town  ;  and  about  a  mile  from  it 
met  Mr.  Rae,  going  to  the  country,  of  whom  I  asked  if  he  knew 
of  any  vessel  going  soon  to  Nova  Scotia.  He  replied,  '  What 
a  pity  that  you  are  so  late !  it  is  not  an  hour  since  a  schooner 
sailed  for  Pictou.'  'Oh,  I  cannot  believe  you,'  said  I;  she 
could  not  go  without  me,  when  I  was  so  near,*  But  I  cannot 
stay  to  talk  :  can  you  tell  me  the  captain's  name,  and  where  he 
lodged?'  'Worth  is  his  name,  and  he  lodged  with  Brecon.' 
I  hastened  to  Brecon's,  and  asked  if  Captain  Worth  was  there. 
The  answer  was,  '  Yes.'  I  thanked  the  God  of  heaven,  and 
asked  if  I  might  see  him.  Being  introduced  to  him  I  asked, 
*  Can  you  give  me  a  passage  to  Nova  Scotia  ?'  '  Yes,  if  you 
will  be  content  with  the  accommodation  which  I  have.'  '  It 
will  be  very  poor  unless  I  be  content  with  it.  When  do 
you  sail  ?'  '  In  ten  minutes'  time.'  '  Very  good,  that  an- 
swers me  well.     I  have  to  call  for  a  gentleman,  and  I  will  be 


*  In  telling  this  incident  he  used  to  suy  that  when  informed  that  there  Jatd 
been  a  vessel  for  Pietou,  he  felt  that  it  was  just  impossible  that  she  could  have 
gone,  and  his  mind  was  at  once  set  at  rest.  In  his  Memorabilia  he  mentions 
the  same  as  an  example  of  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 


220  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

back  •within  ten  minutes.'  In  fifteen  minutes  we  were  on 
board  Captain  Worth's  vessel,  and  I  felt  very  happy  and 
thankful. 

"  When  the  anchor  was  weighed,  and  the  sails  set,  Captain 
Worth  said  to  me,  '  Well,  Mr.  3IacGregor,  I  was  as  ready  to 
sail  yesterday  at  this  time  as  I  am  now,  and  the  wind  has 
been  fair  all  the  time,  and  I  could  not  go;  but  I  know  not  wliat 
kept  me.'  'That  is  strange,'  said  I;  'what  could  hinder 
you  ?'  '  I  cannot  tell ;  I  had  nothing  to  do,  and  I  wished  to 
go;  but  it  seems  I  could  not.'  'Why,'  said  I,  'it  seems  you 
had  to  wait  for  me.'  '  I  believe,'  said  he,  '  that  is  the  very 
thing,  whatever  be  in  it.'  I  told  him  my  detention,  by  going 
to  Princetown,  and  my  anxiety  about  a  passage,  when  he  said 
he  was  happy  in  being  the  instrument,  in  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence, to  give  me  a  passage.  We  had  a  prosperous  voyage ;  and 
I  saw  not  Captain  Worth  again  till  after  thirty  years,  when 
he  reminded  me  of  the  above,  and  more  conversation  which  we 
had  on  board.  I  got  home  on  Thursday  to  my  own  people, 
who  were  sorry  at  my  long  absence,  but  satisfied  Avith  the 
reason  of  it. 

"  As  soon  as  I  got  the  things  that  were  behind  in  the  con- 
gregation, by  my  absence,  brought  to  their  place,  I  set  about 
writing  a  pressing  letter  to  the  Synod,  urging  the  sending  out 
of  four  young  ministers,  or  if  they  could  not  send  them  all, 
some  at  least,  to  those  congregations  that  were  perishing  for  lack 
of  knowledge. 

"  I  represented  the  destitute  state  of  Prince  Edward  Island 
in  general ;  that  I  had  not  preached  in  Charlotte  Town,  nor 
in  a  number  of  other  small  settlements,  who  never  had  the 
gospel  preached  to  them ;  that  Mr.  Des  Brisay  seldom  preached 
but  in  town ;  that  the  only  other  clergyman  in  the  island 
was  a  Catholic  priest;  and  that  the  most  gospel  they  got  was 
from  Methodists.  But  all  the  answer  that  I  got  next  sum- 
mer was,  that  the  Synod  sympathized  with  me,  but  could  find 
no  one  willing  to  come  to  my  assistance. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  221 

"I  had  this  year  applications  to  preach  at  Onslow,  where  I 
had  preached  once  before,  and  from  Stewiackc,  where  I  had 
not;  but  I  could  not  answer  them.  Six  weeks  was  a  lono-  time 
for  my  congregation  in  the  best  time  of  the  year,  considering 
that  I  had  to  preach  in  two  languages,  and  in  two  places  far  dis- 
tant from  one  another. 
19* 

; 


222  MEMOIR   OF   THE 


CHAPTER    XI. 

GENERAL    VIEW    OF    MISSIONARY   JOURNEYS. 
"  In  journeyings  often."     2  Cor.  xi.  26. 

As  we  have  now  entered  upon  his  missionary  journeys,  which 
occupied  so  large  a  portion  of  his  attention  from  this  time  for- 
ward, it  may  be  as  well  to  give  some  general  account  of  the 
state  of  travelling  at  that  time,  and  of  his  general  mode  of  pro- 
cedure on  such  excursions.  The  following  amusing  account 
of  the  state  of  travelling  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  country 
first  appeared  in  the  Recorder  for  1827.* 

"  Mr.  H.,  the  improvement  of  our  roads  and  bridges  is  one 
of  the  best,  if  not  the  very  best,  which  our  Legislature  has 
ever  eflfected.  The  contrast  is  great  indeed  between  the  state 
of  the  roads  now,  and  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  twenty- 
six  years  ago.  Many  a  story  have  I  heard  from  my  father, 
Basil  Wisewood,  of  the  disasters  which  befell  travellers  in  his 
time,  when  there  was  only  one  road  in  the  Province  deserving 
the  name,  viz.,  that  from  Halifax  to  Windsor,  and  Annapolis. 
And  with  wonder  I  have  heard  him  tell,  that  the  road  cost  as 
much  as  would  pave  it  all  over  with  dollars.     The  people  of  the 

*  It  formed  part  of  a  series  of  articles  of  an  amusing  character,  which  ap- 
peared under  tlie  title  of  the  "Busybody."  the  writer  or  more  properly  writers 
of  which  assumed  the  name  of  Solomon  AVisewood.  Wo  have  found  the  draft 
of  this  among  Doctor  MiicGregor's  papers  in  his  own  handwriting,  from 
which  we  infer  that  it  was  a  contribution  of  his  to  the  series.  It  indicates 
that  ho  possessed  a  rein  of  humour,  had  he  chosen  to  exercise  or  cultivate  it. 


REV.    JAMES    IMACGREGOR,    D.D.  223 

best  settlements  found  their  way  to  this  road  or  to  one  another 
by  a  blaze,  that  is,  a  mark  made  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree  here 
and  there,  in  the  proper  course,  for  the  purpose  of  dircctinj^ 
travellers ;  but  in  the  younger  settlements,  travellers  had  to 
provide  pocket  compasses,  and  guessing  their  course,  find  their 
way  through  the  forest  much  in  the  same  way  as  sailors  do 
along  the  sea.  By  the  by,  Mr.  H.,  pocket  compasses  formed 
in  those  days  a  considerable  article  of  our  infant  commerce, 
though  it  is  now  ousted,  and  almost  forgotten. 

"  In  going  by  the  compass  the  traveller  sometimes,  widely 
mistaking  his  course,  missed  entirely  the  intended  settlement, 
and  came  in  upon  another,  or  missed  all  settlements,  and  tra- 
velled on,  till  he  lost  all  hope  of  seeing  a  house,  in  which  case 
he  often  believed  the  compass  itself  went  wrong;  and  discredit- 
ing it,  he  would  wander  he  knew  not  whither.  Sometimes  the 
traveller  would  be  confounded  desperately,  for  the  compass 
needle  would  obstinately  refuse  to  traverse,  and  he  could  not 
know  East  from  West,  North  from  South.  I  cannot  recollect 
his  description  of  its  wonderful  vibrations  and  whirling,  to  the 
no  small  terror  and  amazement  of  the  traveller. 

"  Travelling  by  a  blaze  was  little  better.  He  told  us  strange 
things  of  losing  the  blaze,  and  the  impossibility  of  finding  it 
again,  of  striking  out  a  straightforward  course,  independent  of 
the  blaze,  and  yet,  by  and  by,  coming  upon  their  own  track 
again, — of  the  snow  being  so  driven  against  the  trees  as  to  hide 
the  blaze,  and  causing  frequent  stops  to  rub  it  ofi", — of  its  being 
so  deep  as  to  cover  the  blaze,  and  causing  frequent  stops  to  dig 
away  the  snow  in  order  to  discover  it — of  travellers  being  be- 
nighted by  such  stops,  and  lodging  in  the  forest  where  they 
had  to  kindle  large  fires  on  the  top  of  the  snow,  four  or  sis 
feet  deep,  and  there  (dismal  to  be  told  !)  one  side  next  the  fire 
was  roasted,  and  the  other  frozen.  I  have  heard  him  tell  of 
experienced  travellers,  who  in  such  a  case  would  kindle  two 
fires,  at  a  proper  distance  from  one  another,  and  lie  down  be- 
tween them,  and  enjoy  themselves  luxuriously  between  two 
fires.     In  those  days  swamps  were  avoided  as  intolerable.     The 


224  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

steep  mountain  sides  "were  preferable,  and  hence  there  are  still 
many  hills  on  our  roads  which  might  now  be  easily  avoided. 

"  I  have  heard  him  tell  of  great  dangers  and  hairbreadth 
escapes  from  drowning  in  crossing  brooks  and  rivers  swollen 
with  unexpected  rains ;  for  in  those  days  no  journey  would  be 
undertaken  immediately  after  a  heavy  rain.  He  had  himself 
to  wait  different  times  for  two  or  three  days  nearly  fasting  un- 
til the  subsiding  of  the  water  rendered  the  river  passable.  He 
told  of  horses  swagging  in  swamps  almost  to  their  ears,  and  of 
the  great  difficulty  of  their  riders.  There  were  few  taverns, 
but  every  man  who  had  a  hut  was  hospitable." 

As  we  have  given  his  account  of  travelling  in  the  early  state 
of  the  country,  we  may  give  his  remarks  upon  the  condition  of 
the  roads  at  the  time  he  wrote  : 

"  Such  were  the  difficulties  of  travelling  in  this  Province 
within  these  forty  years.  How  great  and  how  happy  is  the 
change  now  1  Hills  are  levelled  and  valleys  are  filled  up  ;  the 
crooked  places  are  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain. 
A  duke  in  his  coach  and  six  may  ride  in  safety  from  end  to  end 
of  the  Province.  This  is  saying  much,  but  truth  demands  it. 
A  busy  body,  however,  can  still  see  many  faults,  and  much 
need  of  improvements.  The  best  of  our  roads  need  to  be  made 
better,  and  much  more  the  worst,  and  many  new  ones  are 
needed.  They  are  in  general  wofully  soft  in  the  spring  and 
fall,  crying  out  for  gravel  or  MacAdam.  The  bridges  too  are 
sadly  mismanaged,  being  made  of  green  timber,  which  cannot 
last.  Were  the  timber  seasoned  for  a  year  before  it  is  used, 
how  much  firmer  and  more  durable  would  the  bridges  be  !" 

His  picture  of  the  courses  of  the  roads  will  be  recognized  as 
true,  by  many  still  living. 

"  It  was  not  practicable  at  first  to  lay  oS"  the  proper  courses 
of  these  great  roads,  for  they  were  imperfectly  known,  and  the 
diflFerent  settlements  being  connected  together  by  such  blazes 
and  footpaths,  as  suited  themselves.  It  was  best  at  first  to 
make  improvements  on  these  paths,  so  that  travelling  might  be 
safe.     But  it  is  time  now  to  look  to  the  interests  of  the  whole 


REV.   JAMES    MACQREGOR,   D.D.  225 

— especially  of  tlie  extremes,  who  will  have  lonpj  journeys  to 
the  metropolis,  however  straight  the  roads  be  made.  To  every 
alteration  of  any  consequence,  opposition  will  be  made.  Every 
villa<;e,  every  man  of  selfish  views,  every  tavern  keeper,  every 
miller,  and  every  blacksmith,  will  be  loth  to  see  it  taken  farther 
from  them.  But  the  convenience  of  individuals  or  villa<:;es  are 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  accommodation  of  the  public. 
There  are  at  present  many  deviations  from  this  rule;  but  the 
greatest  I  recollect  is  in  the  north  road  to  the  east,  in  its  course 
through  that  famous  flourishing  place,  Pictou.  Travelling 
some  time  ago  towards  the  east  end  of  the  Province,  when  I 
reached  the  brow  of  Mount  Thorn,  where  the  North  coast,  and 
the  Eastern  country  are  first  seen,  I  stopped  to  view  the  scene. 
Ilight  before  me  I  saw  Pictou  Harbour  and  the  ocean,  and  I 
think  the  skirts  of  the  town.  To  the  East  and  South,  the  land 
extended  farther  than  my  sight  could  carry.  I  saw  instantly 
that  hereabouts  the  road  to  Merigomish  and  the  East  should 
part  from  the  Pictou  road,  and  point  toward  the  head  of  Meri- 
gomish harbour;  but  I  had  to  follow  the  Pictou  road,  eight  or 
ten  miles  farther  to  Blanchards.  There  I  parted  with  it  by  a 
great  angle,  crossed  the  West  River,  and  after  some  time  as- 
cended a  mountain  long  and  steep,  more  so  I  believe  than  any 
other  in  the  Province.  When  I  passed  the  steep  and  reached 
the  clear  land  a  little  higher,  I  had  a  fine  prospect  to  the  South 
and  East ;  and  on  my  right  hand,  I  saw  a  long  level  tract 
through  which  the  road  might  have  come,  so  as  to  escape  the 
hill  and  be  much  shorter.  Then  I  began  a  long  descent,  squint- 
ing down  the  stream  till  I  came  to  the  mill,  where  I  crossed  the 
Middle  River  on  a  good  bridge;  and  immediately  turned  up 
the  river  on  the  road  by  which  the  jMiddle  River  people  go  to 
Halifax  by  Upper  Stewiacke,  so  that  here  I  was  travelling 
nearly  back  about  a  mile.  I  then  turned  to  the  East  River  and 
crossed  it,  but  instead  of  keeping  right  on  to  the  head  of  Meri- 
gomish harbour,  I  had  to  go  two  miles  down  the  river  to  New 
Glasgow,  on  the  road  which  leads  to  Pictou,  where,  had  1  kept 
it  eight  miles  farther,  I  would  have  met  the  road  which  I  left 


226  MEMOIR   OF   TUR 

at  Blancliards  so  far  bcliind.  I  turned  off  at  New  Glasgow, 
and  begMti  to  ascend  another  mountain  fur  about  two  miles,  and 
wiien  1  reuclied  its  top,  I  saw  on  my  right  hand  anotlier  long 
level  tract,  where  the  road  would  have  been  much  shorter,  and 
escaped  the  mountain  wholly.  Descending  thence  by  a  long 
and  gradual  slope,  I  found  upon  enquiry  that  the  course  of  the 
road  led  into  Merigomish  harbour,  two  or  three  miles  below  its 
head.  Therefore  it  turned  again  to  the  right,  and  at  last  gained 
the  desired  point,  the  head  of  Merigomish  harbour. 

"  Pausing  here,  I  could  not  but  smile  at  the  sagacity  of  Pic- 
tou  people  as  road  makers,  and  pity  those  who  have  to  travel 
so  many  needless  miles.  JMany  a  shilling  must  they  leave  in 
the  Pictou  taverns,  and  many  a  cold  blast  must  they  endure 
along  its  mountains,  which  aright  direction  of  the  road  would 
save-." 

Reverting,  however,  to  the  state  of  travelling  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  career,  we  observe  that  as  remarked  above  he 
often  travelled  long  distances,  where  there  was  no  road  at  all, 
and  where  he  and  his  fellow-travellers  were  obliged  to  shape 
their  course  by  a  pocket  compass,  and  this  through  the  forest. 
In  these  cases,  of  course,  the  travelling  was  all  on  foot.  This 
involved  great  toil.  The  forests  of  Nova  Scotia  do  not  present 
the  appearance  which  we  have  seen  in  some  other  parts  of 
America,  where  the  trees  are  far  apart,  and  the  ground  so  level 
that  a  carriage  might  be  driven  between  them.  But  the  trees 
generally  are  close  together,  with  a  considerable  undergrowtk 
of  small  bushes.  From  the  thinness  of  the  soil  in  many  places, 
they  abound  in  windfalls.  The  roots  of  these  carry  up  the  soil, 
which  again  falls  and  forms  little  hillocks  known  in  this  coun- 
try as  cradle  hills.  The  difficulty  of  passing  through  a  forest 
of  this  kind  was  increased  by  the  irregular  surface  of  the  coun- 
try. Almost  every  part  of  the  Province  is  traversed  by  hills, 
the  sides  of  which  are  sometimes  steep — deep  ravines  intersect 
the  path  of  the  tr;iveller, — while  the  valleys  present  much 
ground  that  is  low  and  boggy,  and  thus  wet  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.     But  from  the  amount  of  snow  falling,  and  the  slowness 


UEV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  227 

"with  which  it  melted,  even  the  very  driest  were  scarcely  dry 
even  at  niidsuunuer.  Uoder  these  circumstances,  the  traveller 
was  obliged  to  brush  through  a  thick  undergrowth  of  bushes, 
sometimes  to  climb  over  or  creep  under  a  windfall,  and  ag.iin 
to  spring  from  one  root  to  another  over  boggy  spots.  At  one 
time  he  was  obliged  to  toil  up  a  steep  ascent,  at  another  to  cross 
a  brook  by  a  single  fallen  tree,  on  which  it  required  the  whole 
skill  of  a  rope  dancer  to  preserve  his  equilibiium,  and  which 
was  not  always  successful  in  preventing  his  having  a  thorough 
wetting  in  it,  while  again  he  might  be  seen  clambering  up  its 
banks,  by  laying  hold  of  the  bushes  with  which  it  was  lined. 
In  this  work  Doctor  MacGregor,  in  the  days  of  his  strength,  was 
remarkably  active,  rivalling  those  born  in  the  forest.  As  one 
of  my  informants  said,  he  never  saw  any  person  from  the  old 
country  so  smart  in  going  through  the  woods. 

We  may  remark  here,  that  while  the  forest  added  to  his  toils, 
his  natural  sense  of  beauty  was  often  charmed,  and  his  admira- 
tion for  the  glories  of  nature  excited  by  its  magnificence  and 
grandeur.  Woods  still  cover  a  great  part  of  Nova  Scotia,  but 
along  any  of  the  lines  of  travel,  there  is  now  to  be  seen  only 
comparatively  small  trees,  and  these  commonly  second  growth. 
All  the  woods  fit  for  timber,  except  in  remote  districts,  has  been 
taken  to  market ;  but  then  the  forest  was  the  undisturbed 
growth  of  ages.  Trees  then  met  his  view,  which  must  have 
been  standing  when  Columbus  embarked  on  his  first  voyage  for 
the  Western  world.  These  appeared  in  the  most  promiscuous 
style.  "  Many  varieties,"  says  MacGregor,  "  of  the  pine,  in- 
termingled with  birch,  maple,  beech,  oak,  and  numerous  other 
tribes,  branch  luxuriantly  over  the  banks  of  lakes  and  rivers, 
extend  in  stately  grandeur  along  the  plains,  and  stretch  prondly 
up  to  the  very  summits  of  the  mountain.  It  is  impossible  to 
exaggerate  the  autumnal  beauty  of  these  forests;  nothing  under 
heaven  can  be  compared  to  its  effulgent  grandeur.  Two  or 
three  frosty  nights,  in  the  decline  of  autumn,  transform 
the  boundless  verdure  of  a  whole  empire  into  every  possible 
tint  of  brilliant  scarlet,  rich  violet,  every  shade  of  blue  and 


228  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

brown,  vivid  crimson,  and  clittoring  yellow.  The  stern,  inexor. 
able  lir  tribes  alone  maintain  their  eternal  sombre  green.  All 
others  in  mountains  or  in  valleys  burst  into  tlie  most  glorious 
vegetable  beauty,  and  exhibit  the  most  .'splendid  and  most  en- 
chanting panorama  on  earth." 

As  he  passed  through  the  forest  in  its  original  grandeur  he 
often  felt  awed  as  if  passing  amid  the  stately  pillars  of  the 
temple  of  nature. 

"This  is  the  forest  primeval.     The  murmuring  pines  and  the  hemlocks, 
Bearded  with  moss,  and  in  garments  indistinct  in  the  twilight. 
Stand  like  Druids  of  eld,  with  voices  sad  aiid  prophetic, 
Stand  like  harpers  hoar,  with  beards  that  rest  on  their  bosom. 
Loud  from  its  rocky  caverns  the  deep  voiced  neighbouring  ocean 
Speaks,  and  in  accents  disconsolate,  answers  the  wail  of  the  forest."* 

When  emerging  into  some  open  space  he  beheld  the  forest 
stretching  before  him  over  hill  and  valley,  in  the  various  shades 
of  green  and  summer  luxuriance,  or  in  the  richer  glories  of 
autumn,  he  would  stop  to  gaze  and  call  the  attention  of  his  com- 
panions to  the  scene,  who,  however,  saw  in  the  forest  only  an 
impediment  to  their  industry,  and  a  hindrance  to  the  progress 
of  the  country,  and  knew  no  duty  with  regard  to  it,  but  to  re- 
move it  from  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  speedily  as  possible. 

The  danger  of  losing  the  course,  while  traversing  the  forest, 
is  more  common  than  most  persons  would  imagine ;  and  what  is 
singular,  a  person  losing  his  way  is  most  likely  to  come  back 
upon  his  own  track,  or  to  the  very  spot  from  which  he  set  out. 
To  obviate  this  danger  the  first  step  in  the  march  of  improve- 
ment was  to  hlaze,  as  it  was  termed,  the  course  between  different 
places.  This  consisted  merely  in  taking  a  chip  off  each  side  of 
trees  at  short  distances  apart  along  the  line  of  travel.  By 
taking  a  chip  off  each  side  the  person  going  in  either  direction 
has  something  to  guide  him.  Looking  forward  he  sees  before 
him  the  tree  from  which  a  chip  has  been  taken,  and  making  his 
way  to  it,  by  a  glance  ahead  sees  the  next  tree  that  is  blazed, 
and  so  onward.  By  habit  a  quickness  is  acquired  in  discover- 
*  Longfello\V'.s  "  Evangeline." 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  229 

ing  the  course,  wliicli  in  ordinary  circurastances  enables  a  per- 
son to  proceed  with  considerable  ease  and  rapidity.  But  in 
other  cases,  there  are  considerable  difl&culties,  which  he  has 
amusingly  sketched  in  the  extract  given  above. 

The  next  step  was  to  make  a  road,  as  it  was  called.  This, 
however,  consisted  merely  in  cutting  out  the  trees  on  the  line 
of  travel,  sufficiently  to  form  a  sort  of  bridle  path.  The  stumps 
wore  not  removed,  nor  was  the  ground  levelled  or  thrown  up. 
Tliis,  however,  enabled  the  traveller  to  proceed  on  horseback. 
This  was  so  much  gained,  but  if  any  modern  thinks,  that  this 
secured  luore  rapid  locomotion,  he  only  betrays  his  ignorance 
of  the  subject.  A  good  walker  would  not  only  keep  up  with  a 
traveller  on  horseback,  but  often  get  ahead  of  him.  The 
ground  was  generally  soft,  and  sometimes  so  deep,  that  the 
horse  could  scarcely  carry  his  rider ;  and  from  a  peculiar  in- 
stinct of  the  species,  one  horse  would  always  place  his  foot  in 
the  track  made  by  his  predecessor,  so  that  the  road,  so  called, 
got  into  deep  holes,  in  regular  order  where  each  stepped.  In 
the  course  of  a  year  or  two  the  young  trees  began  to  grow  up — 
the  stumps  that  had  been  left  in  the  ground  began  to  send  up 
sprouts,  and  the  branches  of  the  trees  alongside  the  road,  began, 
in  utter  disregard  of  all  laws  regarding  His  Majesty's  Highway, 
to  extend  across  the  path  prepared  for  his  lieges.  So  that  the 
traveller  was  iu  danger,  either  of  being  brushed  from  his  sad- 
dle, or,  at  all  events,  of  being  rudely  scratched  by  the  branches, 
unless  he  was  expert  enough  to  parry  them  off  as  he  advanced, 
which  if  there  had  been  any  rain  just  previous,  would  be  sure 
to  afford  him  the  benefits  of  a  shower  bath.  So  thick  would 
they  grow,  that  travellers  approaching  from  opposite  directions, 
would  sometimes  not  perceive  one  another  until  they  were  just 
in  contact. 

In  winter,  travelling  became  attended  with  some  additional 
difficulties.  The  snow  fell  in  the  forests  to  the  depth  of  three 
or  four  feet,  and  we  have  heard  well  authenticated  instances, 
where  towaruo  spring  it  was  measured  and  found  to  be  actually 
over  six  and  even  seven  feet  deep.  Of  course  travelling  with 
20 


230  MKMOIR    OF    THE 

horses  was  then  out  of  the  question.  And  the  only  mode  of 
travelling  was  by  snow  shoes.  As  remarked  by  Mr.  Clarke,  of 
Amherst,  "the  untrodden  snow  bank  was  his  railroad — the 
snow  shoe  the  only  car  upoii  which  he  was  mounted, — while  of 
his  earthly  house,  the  collctr  heani  bore  along  his  entire  bag- 
gage." 

The  use  of  snow  shoes  was  adopted  by  the  early  settlers  fiom 
the  Indians.  They  consisted  of  a  wuoden  frame  of  an  oval 
shnpe,  but  with  the  end.s  elongated  to  a  point,  about  two  feot 
long  and  about  one  wide.  Across  this  leathern  thongs  were 
stretched  at  equal  distances,  and  others  again  crossed  at  right 
angles,  interlacing  them  so  as  to  form  a  net  work.  In  this  way 
such  a  broad  surface  is  presented  under  the  feet,  that  a  traveller 
can  easily  pass  over  snow  of  ordinary  firmness  without  sinking. 
But  this  mode  of  travelling  was  at  times  very  laborious. 
When  the  snow  was  very  soft,  the  snow  shoes  sank  in  it  and 
became  clogged,  or  when  it  was  very  hard,  they  were  apt  to 
slide.  But  the  chief  difficulty  was  for  strangers  to  become  ac- 
customed to  their  use.  Such  persons  are  sure  to  trip  them- 
selves every  few  steps,  and  to  roll  helplessly  in  the  snow.  To 
travel  with  ease  upon  them  requires  a  peculiar  tact,  which  is 
only  acquired  by  practice,  and  some  never  become  expert  at 
this  mode  of  travelling.  It  is  necessary  to  walk  with  the  feet 
wide  apart,  otherwise  the  snow  shoes  strike  one  another,  and 
trip  the  unfortunate  pedestrian ;  and  each  foot  must  be  lifted 
up  in  a  peculiar  manner,  with  the  toes  as  high  as  the  heel,  or 
the  whole  foot  together,  otherwise  the  forward  point  will  catch 
in  the  snow,  with  the  same  result.  But  when  expertness  is  ac- 
quired, it  becomes  an  easy  mode  of  communication.  Old  per- 
sons have  assured  me  that  in  their  youth  they  would  travel 
a  long  distance  in  that  way,  with  greater  ease  to  themselves,  if 
the  snow  were  suitable,  than  they  could  the  same  distance  on 
tlie  best  road  they  ever  saw. 

Doctor  MacGregor,  of  course,  had  his  difficulty  in  acquiring 
expertness  in  a  mode  of  conveyance  so  entirely  new  to  him,  but 
being  active  on  his  feet  he  after  a  time  became  quite  expert  at 


RKV.    JAMES    MACUHKUOil,    D.D.  2'6L 

it.  The  Indians  to  whom  he  had  been  very  kind,  and  of  whose 
skill  in  guiding  their  way  through  the  intricacies  of  the  forest 
he  sometimes  gladly  availed  himself,  made  him  a  present  of  a 
pair,  nicely  ornamented,  which  he  retained  all  his  days.  As 
the  hard  leathern  soles  of  his  boots  cut  the  thongs  of  the  snow 
shoes,  it  was  necessary  to  use  moccasins.  These  were  made  of 
green  hide  taken  from  the  lower  legs  of  the  ox,  or  more  com- 
monly of  the  moose.  These  last  they  purchased  from  the  In- 
dians, who  had  a  way  of  making  them  soft  and  pliable  by  rub- 
bing them  between  their  hands.  Let  not  my  lady  readers  be 
shocked  at  the  idea  of  our  writing  the  biography  of  a  man, 
whose  nether  extremities  were  encased  in  "  shanks,"  as  they 
were  termed,  or  moccasins  of  untanned  hide.  We  are  describ- 
ing not  a  modern,  refined,  kid-gloved  man-milliner  of  a  preacher. 
We  are  describing  a  veritable  man  of  labour,  and  one  who  bent 
himself  to  his  work  in  the  true  spirit  of  endurance.  Behold 
him  then  equipped  for  his  journey.  His  boots  are  taken  off 
and  deposited  in  his  knapsack,  which  was  generally  carried  by 
one  of  his  companions,  his  feet  are  encased  in  the  afore  des- 
cribed moccasins,  over  his  legs  are  drawn  what  were  called  "  In- 
dian leggins,"  a  sort  of  overall  made  of  blue  cloth,  with  a  red 
stripe  down  each  side,  and  fitting  closely  about  the  feet  and 
strapped  down,  while  the  faithful  racket  (snow  shoes)  that  is 
to  bear  him  safely  onward,  is  fastened  to  his  feet  by  leathern 
thongs  round  the  ancles;  and  whether  you  count  him  fit  for 
your  drawing-rooms  or  not,  he  is  fully  equipped  to  go  on  his 
errand  of  mercy  to  seek  out  the  solitary  dweller  in  the  wood, 
and  to  gather  the  lost  sheep  of  the  desert  into  the  Redeemer's 
fold. 

These  journeys  were  not  without  danger,  as  he  experienced. 
Travellers  often  became  benighted,  and  though  they  might  be 
provided  for  encamping  in  the  woods,  yet  at  other  times  they 
lost  their  way  and,  becoming  exhausted,  were  unable  to  kindle 
a  fire  in  those  days  when  lucifer  matches  were  among  the  un- 
discovered wonders  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  or  running 
short  of  food  were  unable  to  reach  their  intended  destination, 


232  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

and  perished.  That  this  was  no  imaginary  danger  will  appear 
from  the  subsequent  history,  but  especially  from  the  following 
entry  in  Halliburton's  history,  for  the  year  1795  :  "  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Lloyd,  Missionary  at  Chester,  loses  his  way  in  a  snow 
storm,  while  on  his  route  through  the  woods  to  Windsor,  and  is 
frozen  to  death." 

In  summer  the  easiest  way  of  travelling  was  along  shore,  or 
along  the  edges  of  rivers.  But  this  had  its  difficulties.  The 
shore  was  often  encumbered  with  drift  wood,  or  piled  up  with 
stones,  which,  however  interesting  to  a  geologist,  were  very 
awkward  for  the  pedestrian.  In  some  places  the  tide  rose  so 
high  that  it  was  necessary  to  clamber  up  steep  banks  to  get 
along.  At  other  places  the  ground  was  soft  and  boggy,  particu- 
larly at  small  creeks,  which  often  rendered  it  necessary  to 
make  a  long  circuit  to  go  round  the  head  of  them,  and  greatly 
increased  the  distance  travelled. 

But  oftentimes  these  waters  must  be  crossed,  which  was  fre- 
quently a  work  of  considerable  difficulty.  His  narrative  affords  ex- 
amples of  the  principal  modes  by  which  it  was  accomplished.  The 
smaller  rivers  could  commonly  be  forded  on  horseback,  but  pe- 
destrians sometimes  adopted  the  somewhat  school-boy  mode  of 
walking  on  stilts,  which  were  kindly  provided,  pro  hono  puhJico, 
by  good  Samaritans,  and  left  at  the  banks  of  the  stream  for  the 
convenience  of  travellers.  But  soon  bridges  were  constructed 
of  rough  logs,  on  which  travellers  were  sometimes  in  as  great 
danger  as  when  there  were  none.  The  broader  and  deeper 
streams  required  to  be  crossed  in  canoes,  sometimes  the  birch 
bark  canoe  of  the  Micmac  Indian  being  employed,  at  other 
times  the  kind  more  commonly  used  by  the  whites,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  single  tree  hollowed  out. 

It  may  seem  an  attempt  to  impose  upon  the  credulity  of  our 
readers,  but  we  have  heard  of  persons  crossing  creeks  of  some 
width  on  cakes  of  ice.  A  minister  of  our  church,  still  living, 
can  tell  of  such  an  adventure.  Travelling  early  in  the  spring, 
he  and  his  companions  came  to  a  creek,  which  he  saw  no  means 
of  crossing.     The  ice  having  been  broken  up,  several  cakes 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  233 

were  lying  along  the  shore.  His  companions  launched  one  of 
these  cakes,  and  got  upon  it,  having  first  cut  two  poles  as  means 
of  propulsion.  They  called  upon  him  to  join  them,  which  he 
did,  only  after  a  good  deal  of  persuasion,  when  they  commenced 
"  poling,"  as  it  is  termed,  their  frail  bark  across  the  watery 
element,  and  safely  reached  the  other  side.  We  have  not  heard 
an  instance  in  which  Dr.  MacGregor  crossed  a  stream  in  this 
manner,  but  it  is  more  than  likely  that  he  did  so,  and  at  all 
events  the  incident  shows  the  sort  of  shifts  to  which  it  was 
then  necessary  to  resort. 

Besides  the  crossing  of  rivers  and  creeks,  a  work  of  still  more 
danger  was  the  crossing  the  sea  in  his  voyages  to  Prince  Ed- 
ward Island,  Cape  Breton,  and  New  Brunswick.  There  was 
then  no  steamer  to  carry  the  traveller  with  regularity  and  des- 
patch. In  his  later  years,  sailing  packets  plied  between  Nova 
Scotia  and  Prince  Edward  Island,  but  in  his  early  career,  it 
was  only  occasionally  that  he  could  obtain  even  a  sailing  vessel 
to  transport  him  across;  while  very  commonly  he  made  these 
voyages  of  forty,  sixty,  or  it  might  be  a  hundred  miles  in 
open  boats,  some  of  them  being  large  half-decked  boats  built 
expressly  for  such  voyages.  Like  his  Master  crossing  the 
sea  of  Galilee,  his  only  accommodation  was  the  humble  fish- 
ing boat,  in  which  darkness  and  peril  must  alike  be  en- 
countered. 

On  one  occasion  coming  either  from  Prince  Edward  Island, 
or  Miramichi  in  a  schooner,  he  was  overtaken  by  a  violent 
storm,  so  that  even  the  crew  felt  a  little  alarmed.  They  were 
at  sea  over  Sabbath,  and  the  storm  having  somewhat  abated,  he 
read  to  them  the  107th  Psalm,  and  preached  on  our  Saviour 
stilling  the  storm. 

The  only  other  circumstance  regarding  the  physical  state  of 
travelling  which  we  deem  it  necessary  to  notice,  is  the  poor  ac- 
commodation to  which  he  was  obliged  to  submit.  A  hearty 
welcome  he  was  almost  certain  to  receive,  but  his  fare  was  often 
of  the  humblest  kind,  while  a  hard  couch,  the  scanty  covering 
of  which  ill-protected  him  from  the  cold,  was  his  only  bed.  In 
20* 


234  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

fact  such  privations  as  we  have  already  described  as  endured  in 
Pictou,  lie  suffered  when  travelling  abroad,  with  this  difference 
however,  that  at  home  his  visiting  was  principally  in  winter, 
while  his  travelling  abroad  was  generally  in  sumnjer.  But 
whatever  privations  were  in  his  way  he  cheerfully  endured. 
Not  only  so,  but  we  have  heard  of  his  purposely  staying  with 
poor  people,  when  he  might  have  had  better  accommodation 
elsewhere.  On  one  occasion  a  man  having  travelled  with  him 
from  Bedeque  to  Lot  Sixteen,  Prince  Edward  Island,  the  Doc- 
tor lodged  in  his  house,  although  the  man  had  to  borrow  a  loaf 
and  candle  from  one  of  his  neighbours.  This  he  did,  though  the 
man  scarcely  asked  it,  and  though  he  might  have  been  com- 
fortably provided  for  elsewhere,  because  he  knew  it  would  be  a 
gratification  to  the  poor  man. 

On  these  journeys  he  acted  almost  literally  on  the  divine  in- 
junction, certainly  in  the  spirit  of  it,  "  Provide  neither  gold, 
nor  silver,  nor  brass,  in  your  purses,  nor  scrip  for  your  journey, 
neither  two  coats,  neither  shoes,  nor  yet  staves,  for  the  work- 
man is  worthy  of  his  meat."  He  used  to  say  that  he  bad  gone 
from  home  with  a  supply  of  money  in  his  pockets,  and  had  come 
back  with  them  empty,  but  that  at  other  times  he  had  left  with 
them  empty  or  but  scantily  supplied,  and  he  had  returned  with 
them  full.  Generally  he  took  just  a  little  to  provide  against 
emergencies,  but  otherwise  he  set  forth  trusting  that  his  Master 
would  provide  for  him.  In  this  he  was  not  disappointed.  The 
people  were  everywhere  hospitable,  they  provided  fur  his  wants, 
and  brought  him  on  his  journey,  and  even  made  collections, 
which  they  gave  to  him.  In  this  way  his  expenses  were 
moderate.  lie  used  to  say  that  he  had  travelled  all  the 
way  up  above  Fredevicton,  in  New  Brunswick,  a  distance 
of  about  300  miles  and  back,  at  an  expense  of  only  twenty 
shillings. 

Feeling  the  importance  of  his  work,  he  was  accustomed  on 
leaving  to  solicit  the  prayers  of  the  pious  among  his  flock.  On 
his  way  leaving  he  has  frequently  called  at  the  hut  of  Robert 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  235 

Marshall,  and  said,  "I  have  just  called  in  to  ask  you  to  pray 
for  me  when  I  am  away." 

In  these  journeys  he  generally  had  companions — and  so  much 
was  his  company  valued,  that  men  who  did  not  show  much  re- 
gard for  religion,  who  accompanied  him  on  some  of  his  jour- 
neys often  declared,  that  they  were  more  than  repaid  hy  the 
pleasure  of  his  conversation,  both  for  their  time  and  trouble. 
He  kept  up  an  incessant  stream  of  edifying  conversation.  Much 
of  this  was  directly  on  religious  subjects,  and  whatever  subject 
came  up  he  would  give  it  a  religious  turn.  Reflections  of  a 
pious  nature  were  finely  interspersed  with  conversation  on  ordi- 
nary topics,  and  this  so  naturally  as  showed  them  to  be  the 
spontaneous  effusion  of  a  heart  occupied  with  sacred  things,  and 
whose  religion  mingled  with  the  whole  current  of  its  thoughts 
and  emotions.  But  much  of  his  conversation,  particularly  on 
long  journeys,  was  of  a  more  general  character,  embracing  a 
very  wide  range  of  topics.  At  one  time  he  might  be  found  in- 
structing them  in  the  mysteries  of  nature — at  another,  relating 
anecdotes  of  a  light  and  cheerful  character,  and  again  when 
conversation  flagged,  renewing  its  interest  by  singing  songs, 
either  in  English  or  Gaelic* 

In  the  places  which  he  visited,  his  stay  was  necessarily  short ; 
sometimes  a  week,  or,  at  most  a  fortnight,  being  all  the  time  he 
could  spend  in  a  single  settlement.  But  he  made  the  most  of 
his  time,  being  employed  night  and  day,  with  scarcely  relaxa- 
tion enough  for  sleep.  He,  of  course,  preached  on  the  Sabbath 
day,  and  from  the  destitute  condition  in  which  he  found  the 
people  as  to  the  gospel,  his  preaching  was  generally  upon  the 
great  central  truths  of  the  Christian  system.  To  show  this  it 
is  only  necessary  to  refer  to  the  general  character  of  his  texts. 
They  were  such  as  the  following  :  "  I  count  all  things  but  loss 
for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  my  Lord." 
"  Look  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  ye  ends  of  the  earth, 

*  There  are  here  some  repetitions  of  what  has  been  stated  in  another  con- 
nection, in  the  9th  chapter,  but  this  could  scarcely  be  avoided. 


236  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

for  I  am  God,  and  beside  me  there  is  none  else."  "  Be  ye  re- 
conciled to  God,"  &c. 

From  the  carelessness  and  indifference  prevalent  among  the 
people,  be  found  it  necessary  to  labour,  especially,  to  bring  them 
to  a  sense  of  their  guilt,  and  need  of  pardoning  mercy.  This 
he  endeavoured  to  do,  not  by  general  declamation  about  hu- 
man guilt  and  depravity,  not  by  references  to  mankind  at  large, 
but  by  references  to  themselves,  and  the  enumeration  of  par- 
ticulars in  their  own  conduct.  He  described  in  the  plainest 
terms  their  evil  passions,  anger,  wrath,  envy,  &c. ;  their  evil 
speaking,  lying,  Sabbath  breaking,  drunkenness,  &c.,  but  from 
these  rose  to  a  higher  exhibition  of  their  sinfulness  by  point- 
ing out  their  relation  to  God,  and  showing  their  alienation 
from  his  character,  and  total  disregard  of  his  claims.  But  this 
was  only  probing  the  wound,  that  he  might  apply  the  balm 
which  is  in  Gilead.  His  exhibitions  of  man's  sinfulness  were 
only  the  dark  ground,  on  which  to  exhibit  in  brighter  colours 
the  glories  of  Christ  as  a  Saviour. 

From  the  ignorance  of  the  people  too,  he  was  led  to  seek  the 
greatest  simplicity  of  speech.  His  language  was  the  very 
plainest;  and  where  he  was  preaching  a  single  sermon,  not 
knowing  whether  his  hearers  would  ever  hear  another,  he  aimed, 
not  at  preaching  a  systematic  discourse,  but  in  saying  what  was 
most  impressive.  For  the  purpose  of  rousing  the  careless  he 
scrupled  not  to  employ  a  strong  epithet,  even  though  to  some 
it  might  give  offence. 

Doctor  MacCulloch,  in  a  little  work  called  "  William  and 
Melville,"  thus  describes  him  as  he  appeared  on  one  of  these 
excursions :  "  In  the  course  of  the  evening  the  clergyman 
arrived.  Few  of  the  older  Presbyterians  of  these  Provinces 
are  strangers  to  the  apostolic  enterprise  and  exertions  of  Doctor 
MacGregor.  At  a  period  when  Nova  Scotia  presented  to  a 
clergyman  only  toil  and  privation,  he  resigned  the  endearments 
of  the  land  of  his  fathers,  and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  benighted 
and  solitary  inhabitants  of  the  forest.  Aroused  to  activity  by 
the  vigour  of  youth,  and  burning  with  desire  to  promote  the 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  287 

best  interests  of  man,  lie  traversed  the  pathless  solitudes  in 
every  direction — not  to  collect  the  hire  of  the  labourer  from 
the  people  of  the  wood,  but  to  share  their  hardships,  and  to 
soothe  their  sorrows  by  the  tidings  of  salvation.  Wherever  a 
prospect  of  usefulness  opened,  he  disregarded  fatigue  and  out- 
braved danger,  that  the  lost  sheep  of  the  desert  might  be  re- 
stored to  the  fold.  In  one  of  these  excursions  of  mercy  he  had 
now  arrived  at  the  cottage. 

''In  the  opinion  of  Melville  the  appearance  and  manner  of 
the  clergyman  were  little  calculated  to  produce  an  impression 
in  his  favour.  With  the  homely  garb  of  the  country,  he  com- 
bined a  plain  simplicity  of  language  which  indicated  neither 
literary  nor  scientific  acquirements.  In  the  course  of  the  even- 
ing, however,  Melville  was  agreeably  disappointed,  by  discover- 
ing, under  this  unassuming  exterior,  an  extent  of  information 
and  good  sense  which  he  had  not  anticipated.  The  clergyman's 
capacities  of  directing  the  conversation  particularly  attracted 
his  attention.  Whatever  topic  was  mentioned,  he  appeared  con- 
stantly to  keep  in  view  that  he  was  the  minister  of  Christ,  and 
by  the  well  timed  introduction  of  some  striking  and  affectionate 
remark,  he  imperceptibly  turned  the  thoughts  of  the  company 
to  the  grar|d  ends  of  human  existence.  Though  Melville  had 
no  desire  for  religious  instruction,  he  found  it  impossible  to 
listen  without  being  pleased. 

"  In  the  cottage,  the  succeeding  day  was  a  Sabbath  to  the 
Lord.  Mercy  and  truth  had  met  together;  and  there  was  joy 
in  the  wilderness  and  solitary  place.  The  clergyman's  dis- 
course was  rather  a  general  exhibition  of  divine  truth,  than  the 
regular  discussion  of  a  particular  topic.  He  viewed  his  hearers 
as  the  servants  of  God,  and  the  subjects  of  his  law.  Advert- 
ing to  the  precepts  of  religion  as  a  transcript  of  '"'■^•'iie  recti- 
tude, he  showed  them  the  immutable  nature  of  this  standard 
of  righteousness.  Bringing  them  to  its  test,  he  subjoined  an 
impressive  exhibition  of  the  great  misery  and  utter  helpless- 
ness of  man  ;  and  then  turned  them  to  the  Saviour  as  their  sole 
relief.     In  simple  but  glowing  language,  he  delineated  the  love 


238  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

and  grace  of  the  Kedeemerj  and  alTectionatcly  soliciting  from 
them  the  submission  of  faith  at  the  footstool  of  mercy,  he 
pressed  upon  their  minds  the  value  of  a  religious  life,  and 
cheered  them  with  the  gospel,  in  its  blessed  consolations  and 
glorious  results. 

"  As  the  clergyman  proceeded,  the  elevation  of  his  feelings 
reached  the  hearts  of  his  hearers;  his  sentiments,  combined 
with  the  mellowed  tones  of  his  voice,  were  like  showers  that 
water  the  earth.  It  was  a  time  of  refreshing  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord." 

Ihere  was  something  very  solemn  in  sucli  work.  He  some- 
times went  to  people,  among  whom  would  be  found  persons 
twenty  years  of  age,  who  had  never  heard  a  sermon.  He  had 
only  the  opportunity  of  addressing  them  once  or  twice,  and 
then  a  year  or  perhaps  two  or  three  must  elapse  before  he  could 
again  visit  them.  Need  we  wonder  that  his  whole  soul  was 
roused  to  the  deepest  earnestness  of  appeal,  and  that  he  sought, 
in  the  simplest  language  he  could  command,  to  explain  the 
way  of  life,  and  that  he  besieged  the  throne  of  grace  for  their 
Sfdvation  ? 

There  was  also  much  that  was  pleasant.  In  every  settlement 
there  were  persons,  who  remembered  with  interest  the  privi- 
leges they  had  enjoyed  in  the  more  favoured  lands  from  which 
they  had  come,  who  "  wept  when  they  remembered  Zion." 
To  such  his  visits  were  green  spots  in  their  earthly  pilgrimage, 
the  remembrance  of  which  they  cherished  as  among  the  purest 
of  their  earthly  joys.  And  to  others,  his  preaching  had  all  the 
attraction  of  novelty, — and  drawn  by  curiosity,  his  impressive 
manner  at  once  riveted  attention,  and  they  listened  with  eager- 
ness to  the  marvellous  story  of  the  cross  as  something  entirely 
new. 

Where  the  people  were  sufficiently  organized,  he  sometimes 
dispensed  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  On  these  occa- 
sions the  ordinance  was  accompanied  with  all  the  services  then 
usual  ill  Scotland,  and  the  scene  presented  was  such  as  we  have 
described  as  exhibited  on  similar  occasions  in  Pictou.     There 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  239 

wcro  the  same  "  solemn  assemblies"  from  Thursday  till  Mon- 
day, the  same  crowds  gathering  from  surrounding  settlements, 
the  outward  circumstances  of  meeting,  under  the  blue  vault  of 
heaven,  by  the  murmuring  stream,  or  under  the  shadow  of  the 
frreen  wood,  were  the  same,  but  to  all  this  was  added  the  no- 
velty of  the  scene.  In  many  instances  the  young  had  never 
seen  the  ordinance  dispensed,  and  wonder  mingled  with  their 
other  feelings  as  they  instinctively  enquired,  "  What  mean  ye 
by  this  service  ?"  while  to  the  old  it  was  deeply  affecting,  as 
recalling  similar  scenes  in  their  native  land.  Involuntarily 
their  minds  reverted  to  the  stern  mountains,  or  the  peaceful 
valleys  of  Scotland  or  Ireland,  in  which  they  had  spent  their 
youth.  Tender  recollections  crowded  upon  them  of  the  lonely 
glen  in  the  Highlands,  the  sunny  dale  of  the  Lowlands,  or  the 
green  fields  of  Ulster,  where  they  and  their  fathers  had  met  to 
keep  the  feast,  of  the  gathering  of  the  various  groups  from 
mountain  and  glen,  of  the  minister  from  whose  lips  they  first 
heard  the  words  of  eternal  truth,  and  of  the  times  of  refresh- 
ing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  which  they  had  there  en- 
joyed. Long  had  they  been  ready  to  say  as  David,  "  When 
we  remember  these  things  we  pour  out  our  souls  in  us,  for  we 
had  gone  with  the  multitude;  we  went  with  them  to  the  house 
of  God,  with  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise,  with  a  multitude  that 
kept  holy  day."  But  now  that  God  had  visited  them  in  a  dis- 
tant land,  and  these  hallowed  scenes  were  renewed  to  them  in 
the  wilderness,  they  wept  for  joy,  and  their  feelings  found  ex- 
pression in  the  language  of  David,  when  bringing  the  ark  to 
Jerusalem:  <' Lo  we  heard  of  it  at  Ephrata;  we  found  it  in 
the  fields  of  the  wood.  We  will  go  into  his  tabernacles  ;  we 
will  worship  at  his  footstool.  Arise,  0  Lord,  into  thy  rest; 
thou  and  the  ark  of  thy  strength.  Let  thy  priests  be  clothed 
with  righteousness,  and  let  thy  saints  shout  for  joy." 

We  are  not  certain  but  the  very  spots  selected  for  preaching 
added  to  the  interest  of  these  solemnities.  In  some  places 
there  were  churches,  but  in  others  his  preaching  was  in  barns 
or  private   dwellings,  but  just  as  frequently  in   the   open   air, 


240  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

sometimes  on  the  hill  side  under  the  shelter  of  the  forest,  whose 
lonp;  shadows  stretched  across  the  multitude;  or  by  some  brook 
whose  soft  murmur  mingled  with  the  psalm  of  the  worshipper, 
as  if  man  and  inanimate  nature  were  combining  their  voices  in 
one  anthem  to  their  Creator;  or  in  the  intervales,  where  the 
overhanging  banks  shaded  them  from  the  noonday  sun.  We 
have  never  preached  in  such  circumstances,  nor  sat  in  an  assem- 
bly of  this  kind,  without  feelings  such  as  we  never  had  in  wor- 
shipping in  any  temples  made  by  human  hands.  With  him, 
too,  such  were  more  impressive  from  his  drawing  many  of  his 
illustrations,  like  the  great  Teacher,  from  the  objects  of  nature 
around,  and  he  reached  the  height  of  impressiveness  as  he 
closed  his  labours,  by  appealing  to  the  rocks,  the  trees,  the 
hills,  or  where  within  sight,  to  the  burying  ground,  the  green 
graves,  as  witnesses  against  his  hearers  in  the  day  of  judgment. 

As  he  left  his  stand,  not  pulpit,  for  such  a  thing  he  com- 
monly possessed  not,  it  was  only  to  enter  upon  an  unceasing 
round  of  travelling,  preaching,  and  religious  conversation. 
Where  the  people  had  been  originally  Presbyterians,  and  re- 
tained the  habits  of  their  forefathers  in  Scotland  or  Ulster,  one 
of  the  modes  of  instruction  found  most  effectual,  was  by  diets 
of  examination.  The  whole  inhabitants  of  a  settlement  would 
gather  on  such  an  occasion,  and  in  the  course  of  catechizing, 
opportunities  were  afforded  to  explain  more  particularly  what 
was  not  clearly  understood,  and  of  taking  a  wider  view  of  the 
system  of  divine  truth. 

From  his  narrative  it  will  be  seen  that  he  was  often  called 
upon  to  administer  the  ordinance  of  Baptism,  particularly  to 
children,  sometimes  twenty  or  thirty  being  presented  at  one 
service.  He  however  never  dispensed  it  as  mere  form,  but  only 
after  thoroughly  examining  the  parents,  carefully  instructing 
them  in  the  nature  of  the  ordinance,  and  earnestly  pressing  upon 
them  the  important  obligations  resting  on  them.  But  he  was 
often  called  to  baptize  adults,  and  his  ministry  afforded  not  a 
few  examples  of  the  apostolic  practice  of  baptizing  h(;u.seholds. 
Thus  we  have  heard  of  his  baptizing  the  husband  and  wife  and 


IIEV.    JAMES    MACGREOOR,    D.D.  241 

seven  children  at  the  same  time.  And  the  following  case  re- 
corded by  himself,  shows  how  the  similarity  of  his  circum- 
stances with  those  of  the  apostles  produced  an  example  of 
"going  down  into  [or  to]  the  water."  "  Being  once,"  he  says, 
"  on  a  missionary  excursion,  I  agreed  with  several  parents  to 
bnptize  their  children  next  day  at  public  worship,  but  neither 
I  nor  they  took  thought  to  provide  a  vessel  for  the  water.  The 
preaching  was  in  the  open  air,  by  the  side  of  a  brook,  and 
when  I  desired  the  parents  to  present  their  children  for  bap- 
tism, there  was  no  vessel.  This,  however,  was  no  serious  diffi- 
culty. Anyone  in  the  congregation  might  say,  'See  here  is 
water  in  the  brook,  what  doth  hinder  the  children  to  be  bap- 
tized there  ?'  As  far  as  the  brook  was  in  view  of  the  congre- 
gation, no  part  of  it  was  deep  enough  for  immersing  the  chil- 
dren and  no  part  too  shallow  for  sprinkling  them.  They  were 
sprinkled." 

Sometimes,  also,  he  preached  on  week-days  in  settlements 
around,  so  that  there  were  journeys  on  which  he  preached  every 
day  of  the  week.  But  his  time  on  week-days  was  chiefly  oc- 
cupied in  teaching  from  house  to  house.  The  advantage  of 
this  was  that  it  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  more  direct  dealing 
with  individuals.  He  especially  addressed  himself  to  heads  of 
families,  because  he  was  commonly  asked  to  baptize  their  chil- 
dren, which  he  sometimes  did  to  the  number  of  seven  or  eight, 
and  he  wished  to  impress  upon  them  a  sense  of  their  responsi- 
bility, and  to  lead  them  to  the  faithful  di.scharge  of  the  duties 
of  family  religion,  not  only  for  their  own  sake,  but  as  the  means 
which  God  commonly  employs  for  the  salvation  of  the  young. 
''Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved, 
and  thy  house."  And  his  discourse  being  conversational,  an  op- 
portunity was  afforded  for  them  to  state  their  perplexities,  and 
for  him  to  remove  them. 

In   the  houses  in   which  he  lodged,  the  neighbours  would 
gather  to  listen  to  him,  so  that  his  conversation  was  often   pro- 
longed far  into  the   night,  while  breakfast  would  not  be  over 
the  next  morning,  till  some  would  again  be  round  him.     And 
21 


242  MEMOIR   OF   THK 

as  he  travelled  to  another  settlement,  many  parted  from  him 
with  tears,  while  the  young  and  tlie  vigorous  sometimes  accom- 
panied him  either  on  foot  or  on  horse-hack,  to  the  next  place 
of  lahour,  to  listen  to  his  conversation  by  tlie  way, — or  to  liear 
his  discourse  there.  So  incessant  were  his  labours  that  it  was 
amazing  how  he  could  go  through  them  with  so  little  rest.  But 
at  any  interruption  he  would  fall  asleep,  and  he  had  learned  to 
sleep  in  any  position,  or  in  any  circuinstajices,  so  that  son)etiiiies 
lie  was  found  sleeping  on  horse-back,  while  his  horse  leisurely 
pursued  his  journey — sometimes  lying  like  his  Miistcr,  in  the 
hinder  part  of  a  boat,  with  the  hard  stones  of  the  ballast  for  his 
couch,  and  the  rail  for  his  pillow,  while  again  he  would  snatch 
a  few  minutes'  repose  on  his  chair,  while  those  around  him  im- 
agined him  studying.  Yet  even  with  the  slight  refreshment 
obtained  in  such  ways,  he  started  up  to  resume  his  work  with 
new  vigour. 

The  effect  of  such  a  visit  even  for  a  few  days,  among  a  people 
in  a  condition  so  destitute,  was  much  greater  than  at  first  sight 
would  be  supposed.  It  has  been  said  that  he  never  visited  a 
place,  on  such  a  mission,  where  saving  results  did  not  follow. 
Believers,  whose  souls  had  long  languished  in  the  spiritual 
drought  reigning  around  them,  were  refreshed,  and  the  things 
that  were  ready  to  die  were  aroused  into  new  life;  souls  not 
altogether  regardless,  but  who  had  been,  as  it  were,  feeling  after 
God,  and  with  some  degree  of  anxiety  looking  to  their  immor- 
tal interests,  were  guided  in  the  way  of  peace,  and  were  filled 
with  joy  in  believing;  while  many  careless  were  aroused  to  seek 
the  Lord.  On  such  occasions  there  was  a  real  revival  of  reli- 
gion— not  what  is  often  understood  in  America  by  that  term — 
the  getting  up  a  mere  animal  excitement  by  means  fitted  to  ex- 
cite weak  nerves, — but  solemn  impressions  of  the  tnithuYion  the 
mind,  eager  inquiries  after  the  way  of  life,  and  personal  accept- 
ance of  the  Saviour.  The  number  of  individual  cases  of  this 
kind  resulting  from  his  labours,  the  great  day  alone  can  dis- 
close. 

But  the  most  known  result  was  commonly  the  inducing  an 


RKV.    JAMES    MACUUKGOR,    D.D.  248 

anxiety  to  have  the  ordinances  of  the  p;ospel  regularly  dispensed, 
and  for  that  purpose,  leading  them  to  make  efforts  to  obtain  the 
services  of  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Where  this  was  obtained 
within  a  reasonable  time,  the  result  was  the  formation  of  a  con- 
gregation. He  planted,  and  by  visits  for  some  years  would 
water,  and  where  a  faithful  labourer  followed  him,  he  reaped  an 
abundant  increase;  but  with  his  own  sphere  of  labour  requiring 
more  of  his  attention,  and  new  spheres  claiming  his  sympathy, 
he  was  unable  to  build  where  he  had  laid  the  foundation ;  and 
when,  as  was  too  often  the  case,  no  faithful  minister  was  ob- 
tained, the  movement  died  out,  or,  at  least  it  became  the  scene 
of  the  labours  of  other  denominations.  "  Herein  is  that  say- 
ing true,  one  soweth  and  another  reapeth."  ''  That  both  he 
that  soweth,  and  he  that  reapeth  may  rejoice  together." 

In  this  work  he  came  to  take  great  delight.  He  saw  the 
settlers  every  where  as  sheep  scattered  upon  the  mountains 
with  none  to  care  for  their  souls — he  met  among  them  the  most 
cordial  reception — every  one  who  had  any  respect  for  religion, 
and  others  feeling  their  ignorance  and  their  need  of  instruction, 
alike  feeling  the  sentiments,  if  not  adopting  the  language  of  the 
Prophet,  ''  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet 
of  him  that  bringetli  good  tidings,  that  publisheth  peace,  that 
bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that  publisheth  salvation  !"  He 
saw  men  listening  with  eagerness  to  the  word  of  life,  and  saw 
that  word  having  free  course  and  glorified  among  them.  This, 
his  "joy  therefore  was  fulfilled."  And  we  believe  that  it  had 
a  good  effect  upon  himself  and  his  preaching.  From  early  life  he 
had  been  pious,  and  in  his  first  preaching  he  preached  the  truth, 
preached  it  clearly,  and  with  some  degree  of  earnestness.  But 
it  was  the  sight  of  the  destitute  condition  of  the  settlers,  as 
"  sheep  wanting  a  shepherd,"  and  perishing,  with  none  to  care 
for  their  souls,  that  stirred  his  spirit  within  him,  kindled  all 
the  ardor  of  his  nature,  and  filled  him  with  consuming  zeal 
for  their  salvation,  and  made  his  preaching  of  that  earnest  and 
rousing  character,  by  which  it  was  afterwards  characterized. 

In  this  way  his  labours  extended  over  the  then  settled  parts  of 


244  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

Eastern  Nova  Scotia,  and  of  New  Brunswick  and  Prince  Edward 
Island.  The  most  of  the  older  Presbyterian  congregations 
throughout  this  extent  either  originated  with  him  or  were  cher- 
ished by  him  in  their  infancy.  From  the  year  1788  till  the 
year  1820,  a  period  of  over  thirty  year.*;,  scarce  a  year  elapsed 
without  one  or  more  missionary  journey,  such  as  wc  have  de- 
scribed, so  that  he  might  adopt  the  language  of  the  apostle, 
■which  we  have  adopted,  as  descriptive  of  his  life  :  "  In  jour- 
neyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils 
by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils 
in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in 
perils  among  false  brethren ;  in  weariness  and  painfulness, 
in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often, 
in  cold  and  nakedness.  Beside  those  things  that  are  with- 
out, that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the 
churches." 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D  245 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CONTINUED    LABOURS   AT    HOME   AND   ABROAD. — 1791-1793. 

"In  weariness  and  paiufulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  Lunger  and  thirst,  in 
fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness."     2  Cor.  xi.  27. 

The  next  missionary  excursion  of  which  he  gives  an  account 
was  a  winter  journey  to  Stewiacke.  This  settlement  lies  in  a 
south-westerly  direction  from  Pictou,  and  was  about  thirty  miles 
distant  from  his  home.  The  people  there  had  not  originally 
emigrated  in  one  body.  In  the  year  1780,  a  single  settler 
named  Kennedy  from  New  England,  erected  his  hut  where 
John  Putnam  now  resides.  He  was  followed  the  next  year  by 
Mr.  Samuel  Teas,  a  North  of  Ireland  Presbyterian,  and  Messrs. 
Whidden  and  D.  Fisher  from  New  England,  who  also  settled 
in  the  Middle  Settlement.  In  the  following  year  Messrs.  Wm. 
Fulton,  Thomas  Croker,  Charles  Cox,  and  Matthew  Johnson, 
settled  near  where  the  village  now  is.  Shortly  after  they  were 
joined  by  others,  some  of  whom  settled  in  the  Upper  Settle- 
ment. At  the  time  of  Doctor  MacGregor's  first  visit  to  them, 
there  were  about  twenty  families  in  the  Upper  Settlement,  and 
about  ten  in  the  Middle.  These  were  of  mixed  origin,  some 
being  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  one  or  two  from  Scotland, 
but  the  majority  from  New  England.  They  were  generally  well 
trained  in  religious  matters.  Previous  to  this,  Mr.  Cock  of 
Truro,  and  Mr.  Smith  of  Londonderry,  paid  them  one  or  two 
visits.     The   Rev.  James  Slunroe  also  preached  among  them 


246  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

part  of  his  time  for  about  two  years,  between  the  years  1791 
and  179-i. 

We  insert  here  his  own  account  of  his  journey,  though  the 
older  settlers  agree  that  bis  first  journey  did  not  take  place  so 
errly  as  the  date  which  he  has  assigned  to  it,  (the  first  journey 
was  in  1794,)  and  that  his  narrative  confounds  two  journeys. 

"  1791.  This  winter  I  bud  to  break  in  upon  my  plan  of 
winter  visitation  and  examination,  by  a  few  missionary  excur- 
sions. To  have  given  a  little  supply  of  sermon  to  Onslow  and 
Stewiacke  in  summer  would  have  been  a  sacrifice  quite  out  of 
the  power  of  the  congregation,  as  one  Sabbath  in  summer  was 
worth  two,  or  even  three,  in  winter.  I  therefore  determined, 
with  the  consent  of  the  session,  to  give  each  of  them  two  or 
three  Sabbaths  in  winter.  This,  however,  was  no  easy  task 
when  the  snow  was  two  or  three  feet  deep.  Here  I  bad  to 
travel  forty  miles  on  snow  shoes,  a  journey  almost  three  times 
as  long  as  any  which  I  had  hitherto  performed  in  that  way. 
Travelling  on  snow  shoes  is  eligible  only  when  the  snow  is 
neither  very  soft  nor  very  hard ;  for  when  it  is  very  hard  the 
snow  shoes  are  apt  to  slide,  and  when  it  is  very  soft  they  sink 
deep,  and  become  wet,  and  so  heavy  as  to  clog  the  feet  greatly. 
It  was  soft  then,  and  though  I  had  three  or  four  men  before  me 
making  the  road  more  solid,  yet  I  was  quite  faint  by  the  time 
we  had  travelled  eleven  miles.  One  of  the  company  had  with 
him  a  little  rum  and  bread  and  cheese,  of  which  we  all  partook; 
and  by  which  I  was  recruited  more  than  by  any  meal  of  victuals 
which  I  remember.  But  1  became  faint  again  befure  I  reached 
a  house,  which  was  four  miles  distant.  Then,  having  dined  and 
rested,  we  travelled  on  to  Truro,  ten  miles,  where  I  had  a  sound 
sleep. 

"  In  this  short  missionary  excursion  I  had  very  attentive 
audiences,  both  on  week-days  and  Sabbaths;  but,  as  I  could 
not  but  foresee,  the  proportion  of  females  was  much  less  than 
it  would  have  been  in  summer.  This  was  owing  to  the  depth 
of  the  snow,  and  is  unavoidable  where  the  population  is  so  thin 
that  there  is  not  enough  of  travelling  to  make  good  paths.     On 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  247 

my  way  home  from  Stewiacke  I  was  more  hardly  bestead,  both 
by  fatigue  and  liung(>r,  than  ever  I  was.  I  left  Stewiacke  on  a 
fine  morning,  along  with  four  Pictou  men — two  belonging  to  the 
West  River  and  two  to  the  Middle  lliver;  and  having  scarcely 
twenty  miles  to  travel,  we  doubted  not  of  reacliing  Pictou  be- 
fore night.  But  we  took  a  little  bread  and  cheese  with  us,  as 
we  expected  to  be  hungry  before  we  could  reach  a  house.  We 
had  travelled  only  a  short  way  when  the  weather  changed,  and 
the  travelling  became  extremely  heavy.  We  therefore  resolved, 
instead  of  going,  one  party  for  the  West  River  and  the  other 
for  the  Middle  River,  to  keep  together,  and  steer  a  middle 
course  between  the  two  rivers  until  we  could  get  far  on,  and  so 
have  less  travelling  after  dividing.  By  this  plan  we  would 
have  but  one  path  to  break,  and  each  one's  share  of  the  fatigue 
in  going  foremost  to  break  it  would  be  less.  Thus  we  clung 
together  till  night,  and  then  we  judged  ourselves  only  half  way 
to  Pictou.  As  it  began  to  be  dark,  one  began  to  cut  down  fire- 
wood, another  to  cut  down  poles  and  spruce  branches  for  a  shed 
or  camp  to  shelter  us,  a  third  was  engaged  in  fixing  the  poles 
and  laying  the  branches  in  order  over  them,  while  the  fourth 
laid  the  wood  (cut  by  the  first)  in  order  upon  the  snow,  collect- 
ing dry  rotten  sticks,  striking  fire,  and  kindling  it.  During 
most  of  the  time  in  which  they  were  thus  engaged  I  rested, 
being  much  fatigued;  but  I  soon  grew  very  cold,  and  therefore 
got  up  and  gathered  a  parcel  of  the  spruce  branches  and  strewed 
them  on  the  snow  for  couches  during  the  night.  We  soon  made 
an  excellent  fire,  and  kept  it  burning  all  night,  feeling  no  other 
inconvenience  than  that  we  had  to  turn  now  and  then,  for  the 
side  farthest  from  the  fire  soon  grew  cold,  and  the  other  too 
warm.  I  had  no  idea  that  a  fire  made  on  the  top  of  the  snow 
would  have  given  us  half  the  comfort  we  had ;  but  my  fellow- 
travellers  were  used  to  it,  and  well  knew  how  to  manage  it  with 
the  greatest  propriety.  They  laid  on  the  snow  a  row  of  straight 
logs  close  together  for  a  hearth,  upon  which  they  laid  other 
logs  and  splits  for  the  fire. 

"  With  morning  we  rose  to  prepare  for  our  journey.     We 


248  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

had  good  appetites,  but  no  provisions.  "We  separated — one 
party  squinting  to  the  left,  with  intention  to  hit  the  West  River 
at  a  considerable  distance  down  from  its  source ;  the  other,  to 
which  I  belonged,  squinting  to  the  right,  with  the  same  inteu- 
tion  as  to  the  Middle  Kiver,  We,  however,  missed  our  mark 
completely,  for  we  travelled  on  till  we  thought  we  must  be  far 
past  the  Middle  River;  and  judging  that  we  had  passed  it  so 
near  its  source  as  to  do  so  without  knowing  it,  or  perhaps 
wholly  above  its  source,  we  altered  our  course,  and  struck  to 
the  left,  assuring  ourselves  that  we  could  not  miss  it  again. 
Onwards  we  marched,  till  we  again  thought  ourselves  far  past 
it;  and  not  meeting  it,  we  could  not  determine  what  was  best 
to  be  done.  After  consultation,  we  resolved  to  turn  again  to 
the  right.  By  this  time  I  was  extremely  wearied,  and  glad 
of  any  excuse  for  resting  two  or  three  minutes.  We  had  not 
gone  far  when  we  met  a  hlaze  (a  chip  taken  off  the  side  of  the 
trees,  to  show  travellers  a  course)  crossing  our  path  almost  di- 
rectly. We  resolved  to  follow  it,  as  it  would  lead  us  some- 
where ;  but  whether  it  was  best  to  follow  it  to  the  right  or  left 
we  could  not  determine.  By  mere  random  we  chose  the  left, 
and  followed  it  as  we  thought  about  three  miles,  but  probably 
not  two,  when  we  began  to  fear  it  was  leading  us  from  home, 
and  accordingly  we  came  straight  back  upon  our  own  track, 
and  kept  the  direction  for  more  than  four  miles  as  we  thought, 
and  then  stopped  for  another  consultation.  I  was  glad  of  any 
excuse  to  stop  a  little.  We  now  resolved  to  take  a  kind  of 
random  course  till  we  should  fall  in  with  a  brook,  and  then  to 
follow  it  whithersoever  it  went.  This  we  did,  and  soon  fell  in 
with  a  brook,  which  we  followed  a  long  way,  shortening  its 
windings  as  much  as  we  could.  It  led  us  at  length  to  burnt 
land,  which  gave  us  a  hope  that  a  settlement  was  not  far  ofif, 
though  the  immense  multitude  of  fallen  trees  lying  in  every 
direction  embarrassed  us  greatly,  obliging  us  to  creep  under 
them  and  climb  over  them  with  great  difficulty.  The  burnt 
land  was  extensive,  and  our  progress  through  it  extremely  slow 
and  fatiguing  j  but  having  got  past,  we  soon  arrived  at  a  good 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  249 

path  on  the  side  of  the  Middle  River,  about  four  miles  below 
the  upmost  settler.  Here  we  took  off  our  snow  shoes,  and 
being  relieved  of  their  weight,  I  felt  as  if  I  had  no  feet,  and 
yet  was  so  done  out,  that  I  could  scarcely  reach  the  next  house. 
Here  we  were  speedily  supplied  with  plenty  to  eat  and  drink  ; 
but  I  could  cat  nothing  till  after  I  had  rested  a  while,  when  I 
felt  an  appetite  for  some  boiled  potatoes.  Rest  and  sleep  re- 
stored me  to  my  usual  appetite  and  strength." 

The  older  settlers  all  agree  that  on  his  first  journey  he  came 
through  the  woods  direct  from  Pictou.  Messrs.  Samuel  Teas 
and  Robert  Hamilton  went  for  him,  and  Messrs.  David  Fraser 
and  John  Marshall  went  with  him.  Between  the  farthest  up 
settler  on  the  Middle  River,  (John  Collie,)  and  the  farthest  up 
settler  in  the  Stewiacke,  a  distance  of  nearly  thirty  miles,  there 
was  an  unbroken  forest,  without  even  a  hla::e  to  guide  the  course 
of  the  traveller.  They  directed  their  course  by  compass,  and 
of  course  had  to  travel  on  snow  shoes.  He  spent  two  weeks  on 
the  excursion,  pi'eaching  on  Sabbaths  and  week-da3's  in  barns 
or  dwelling  houses,  particularly  at  Mr.  Robert  Hamilton's,  near 
where  the  village  now  is,  at  Mr.  Wm.  Fulton's  just  where  the 
upper  settlement  meeting  house  now  stands,  and  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  river.  One  sermon  on  the  words,  ''  The  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked,"  is  par- 
ticularly remembered. 

They  also  agree  that  it  was  on  the  second  journey  he  was  re- 
duced to  such  extremities,  and  that  this  was  in  the  year  1795. 
On  this  occasion  he  came  by  way  of  Truro,  At  the  Stewiacke 
side  there  was  a  blaze  through  the  woods,  but  there  was  none 
at  the  Pictou  side.  His  companions  were  John  MacLean  and 
Donald  MacLeod,  of  "West  River,  and  Thomas  Fraser  and  John 
Marshall,  of  the  Middle  River.  On  this  occasion  he  preached 
in  both  settlements.  This  visit  also  extended  to  two  weeks, 
during  which  he  laboured  both  on  Sabbaths  and  week-days, 
both  preaching  publicly  and  visiting  from  house  to  house.  On 
both  visits  he  held  diets  of  examination.  These  meetings  were 
at  that  time  popular  among  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Presbyterians, 


250  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

and  tlicrc  was,  for  the  population,  a  lar<re  nsseuiblage.  In  fact, 
the  whole  settlement  gathered,  and  the  house,  which  was  a  pri- 
vate dwellinjr,  was  full.  The  people  were  at  tliat  time  some- 
what divided  as  Uurghcrs  and  Anli-Burghers,  and  on  account 
of  the  controversy  between  him  and  the  Truro  brethren,  a  few 
did  not  go  to  hear  him  preach,  but  most  were  glad  of  a  sermon, 
and  both  parties  attended  his  diets  of  examination. 

It  may  be  added,  that  his  companions  on  his  journey  home, 
who  diverged  for  the  West  River,  reached  home  without  any 
mishap,  though  somewhat  exhausted  from  want  of  food.  Pie 
with  the  others  came  out  at  what  was  then  Kobert  Brydone's, 
now  occupied  by  iMr.  W.  P.  Crockett. 

"  I  got  through  the  usual  course  of  examinations  with  in- 
creased comfort,  being  satisfied  that  the  congregation  was  grow- 
ing in  knowledge  and  grace;  but  I  was  obliged  to  omit  the 
visitation  of  a  number  of  families,  especially  those  on  the  out- 
skirts. 

"  This  year  the  session  and  I  had  some  trouble  on  account  of 
an  umbrage  which  some  of  the  congregation  entertained  against 
Hugh  Fraser,  one  of  the  elders.  The  offence  was  grounded 
almost  wholly  upon  a  misrepresentation,  but  so  general  was  the 
offence  taken,  that  his  brethren  in  the  session  thought  his  pub- 
lic usefulness  was  over,  and  with  much  sympathy  advised  him 
to  lay  down  his  office.  lie,  however,  refused,  until  some  real 
fault  should  be  proved  against  him.  None  would  undertake  to 
do  this,  and  so  the  matter  rested,  till  the  people  came  to  view 
the  case  more  coolly,  to  see  through  the  misrepresentation,  and 
to  receive  him  into  their  favour  again.  He  bore  his  trial  with 
meekness  and  patience,  recovered  his  usefulness,  and  retained 
it  to  his  death. 

"  This  year  we  had  eighteen  additional  communicants,  and 
among  them  Robert  Gerrard,  an  Irish  convert  from  Popery, 
who,  during  the  two  years,  was  alternately  so  pleased  and  dis- 
pleased with  my  preaching,  that  he  swore  different  times  that 
nothing  would  prevent  him  from  coming  to  hear  me,  and  that 
he  would  never  hear  me  more." 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREOOR,    D.D.  251 

The  following  from  his  Memorabilia  falls  to  be  inserted  here. 
"  In  October  1791,  in  sailing  to  the  West  River  meeting  house, 
I  had  a  remarkable  and  most  seasonable  answer  of  prayer.  The 
boat  being  heavy  and  ill  manned  we  could  make  no  headway 
after  passing  the  Narrows  ;*  for  then  the  wind  was  ahead  and 
strong.  But  having  got  a  lighter  boat  there,  by  making  vigor- 
ous exertions,  and  keeping  as  much  as  we  could  under  the  lee, 
we  got,  by  slow  progress,  to  Eraser's  Point  between  ten  and 
eleven  o'clock,  A.  M.  But  we  could  be  no  longer  under  a  lee, 
and  the  wind  was  now  more  ahead,  and  stronger,  and  the  men 
weary  and  discouraged,  so  that  we  hardly  made  any  progres.'). 
During  all  this  time  I  sometimes  prayed  and  sometimes  fretted. 
Here  we  were  almost  cast  ashore.  After  struggling  awhile,  ap- 
parently to  no  purpose,  I  desired  them  to  give  it  up,  for  that  it 
was  vain  to  attempt  going  forward,  which  they  instantly  did. 
But  being  vexed  for  the  disappointment  of  God's  people  and 
the  suffering  of  God's  glory,  I  begged  God's  assistance,  and  de- 
sired the  men  to  make  another  attempt,  which  they  did;  and 
as  if  a  miracle  had  been  wrought  for  us,  we  advanced  fast,  and 
landed  in  time  to  do  the  day's  work." 

"  1792.  Peter  Grant,  elder  for  the  east  branch  of  the  East 
River,  being  dead  for  some  time,  and  the  bounds  of  the  con- 
gregation being  enlarged  by  the  accession  of  new  settlers,  it 
was  deemed  necessary  to  add  three  more  elders  to  the  session. 
Merigomish  also  was  enlarged  in  the  same  manner,  and  the  peo- 
ple there  wished  to  embrace  the  opportunity  of  getting  an  elder 
added  to  their  session.  Therefore,  in  the  course  of  this  sum- 
mer, four  more  men  were  chosen,  proved,  and  ordained  to  the 
office  of  the  eldership. 

"  The  session  appointed  me  again  to  Amherst  this  summer. 
I  found  the  people  there  much  the  same  as  before,  onl}''  they 
were  anxious  about  an  answer  to  their  petition  for  a  minister. 
The  reader  cannot  easily  conceive  my  grief  and  perplexity  on 
their  account,  seeinjr  them  fi-om  year  to  year  destitute  of  public 
ordinances,  and  seeing  my  earnest  applications  to  the  Synod 

»  Of  tho  Ei.st  KivtT, 


252  MEMOIR  OP  THE 

producing  nothing  but  sympathy.  The  Synod  had,  indeed, 
appointed  Mr.  Eneas  MacBean,  a  preacher  under  their  inspec- 
tion, an  acquaintance  of  mine,  to  whom  I  had  written,  earnestly 
requesting  him  to  come,  and  who,  answering  plainly,  promised 
that  he  would,  if  afpniiitel,  but  did  not  stand  to  his  promise. 
lie  found  excuses  f.ir  refu.siiijj;  the  Synod's  appointment;  but 
he  did  not  profit  by  it,  for  none  who  came  had  such  a  hard  lot 
as  he  had.  This  example  should  be  a  caution  to  others.  I 
wrote  again  to  the  Synod  for  ministers,  a  longer  letter  than  be- 
fore, and  more  earnest,  which  my  friend,  Mr.  Buist,  caused  to 
be  circulated  pretty  widely,  in  order  to  make  a  stronger  im- 
pression at  home.  It  had  considerable  effect ;  for  though  it 
produced  no  immediate  relief,  it  induced  Mr.  Ross  and  Mr. 
Brown  to  prepare  seriously  for  coming  out. 

"  Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick,"  and  the  disappoint- 
ments which  he  experienced  in  regard  to  ministers  coming  to 
his  assistance  were  among  the  most  severe  trials  he  experienced 
during  the  early  years  of  his  ministry.  Two  disappointments 
of  this  kind  are  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  They 
are  more  particularly  described  in  the  following  letter,  written 
about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1791,  to  a  relative  who  had 
emigrated  to  New  York  : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  received  a  letter  dated  October  9tli, — tliis  day.  It  is  tlie 
fourth  written  to  me,  but  I  believe  it  is  only  tlie  third  which  I  received. 
I  am  sorry  for  Mr.  Marshall's*  losing- the  Meeting  House,  but  I  am  not  sure 
if  it  be  a  great  loss  to  his  congregatiin,  because  people  will  sympatliize 
with  them  for  having  suffered  unjustly,  and  they  will  be  stirred  up 
to  prav  more  fervently.  The  silver  and  the  gold  arc  the  Lord's,  and  he 
can  easily  employ  tliem  to  build  another  Meeting  House.  The  Lord's  tes. 
timony  will,  without  doubt,  be  maintained,  and  all  attempts  against  it  will 
only  forward  it. 

It  is  a  great  pity  tliat  men  are  so  unwilling  to  come  to  America.  It  is 
a  means  of  hindering  tlie  Lord's  work  very  much.  But  the  hearts  of  all 
men  are  in  tlie  hands  of  tlie  Lord,  and  when  his  time  comes  he  will  make 
them  willing;  but  as  he  works  by  means,  every  one  ought  to  use  every 
means  witliin  his  reach ;  and  so  those  who  have  a  call  to  come  and  reibse 


*  Rev.  Mr.  Marshall  of  Philadelphia,  who  lost  his  church  by  the  union  of 
the  Associate  and  Reformed  Presbyterians  in  the  United  States. 


REV.    JAMK3    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  253 

are  certainly  guilty  of  dreadful  disobedience.  Prayer  is  the  cliief  means 
in  our  power,  and  as  Ciirist  gives  us  a  special  command  to  pray  to  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  forth  labourers  to  his  own  harvest,  I  think 
you  ought  to  make  it  a  rule  never  to  go  to  your  knees  in  your  family  or  in 
sceref,  without  praying  tiiat  he  would  send  tliem  forth, — you   should   also 

of  this  congregation  and  nie. 

We  sent  a  petition  to  the  Synod  in  May,  '89,  for  Mr.  MacBean,  a  Higli- 
lander,  &c.  The  most  part  of  the  people  are  from  the  Highlands.  Inver- 
ness had  a  call  for  him  too,  and  as  there  was  a  competition,  and  tlie  Synod 
were  exactly  in  half  for  us,  and  in  half  against  us,  they  did  not  make  any 
decision  tiiat  j'ear,  but  sent  word  to  us  and  Inverness  to  give  a  full  ac- 
count of  our  situation  and  needs,  and  the  arguments  we  had  in  our  be- 
half.* 

We  did  so,  and  in  May  last  he  was  appointed  to  tliis  congregation 
without  a  dissenting  voice,  except  one  minister  and  one  elder,  but  all  this 
signifies  nothing,  as  he  is  unwilling  to  come.  If  the  Lord  were  not  to 
overrule  all  things  for  good,  it  would  be  a  great  loss  to  us.  There  is  no 
other  who  can  preach  Gaelic  in  the  inspection  of  the  Synod.  How  the 
Lord  will  dispose  of  us  in  this  dispensation  I  know  not,  only  I  know  he 
will  do  what  is  best. 

Amherst,  about  100  miles  from  this,  sent  a  petition  to  the  last  Synod, 
and  their  petition  is  successful.  John  Cree,  a  son  of  John  Cree,  merchant 
in  Perth,  whom  perhaps  you  know,  comes  out  to  them  in  Spring.  This 
will  be  some  help  to  us,  as  he  will  help  us  at  the  sacrament,  which  has 
been  a  heavy  burden  upon  me.  I  have  kept  three  sacraments  alone,  in 
Gaelic  and  English.  1  hope  ere  many  years  we  will  get  some  more  min- 
isters out  here." 

Mr.  MacBean  was  a  man  of  good  talents,  and  his  letters  are 
full  of  loud  professions  of  readiness  to  follow  the  path  of  duty 
wherever  it  u)ight  lead.  "  I  am  very  much  obliged,"  he  says, 
"  to  you  for  your  sincere,  disinterested  desire,  that  I  should  be 
your  co-pastor  in  Pictou.  In  this  most  momentous  matter  I 
wish  to  be  equally  disinteresfed.  I  would  not  wish  to  imitate 
some  of  my  fellow  preachers,  who  refused  going  to  America, 
when  they  had,  in  so  far  as  I  could  ever  yet  judge,  a  very  clear 
call  to  go.  I  would  wish  rather  to  consider  myself  as  not  at 
my  own,  but  at  the  sovereign  and  gracious  Lord's  disposal ;  and 
consequently,  as  under  the  most  indispensable  obligation  to  an- 
swer and  comply,  whenever  and  whithersoever  I  should  have  a 


*  In  a  letter,  Mr.  Buist  describes   the  competition    between  Inverness  and 
Pictou,  as  "  the  most  interesting  that  ever  came  before  the  Synod." 

22 


254  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

clear  call  from  liim."  ''You  uia}'  do  respecting  me  as  you  think 
best.  I  have  no  desire  to  have  tlie  least  hand  in  carving 
my  own  lut." 

With  such  promises  on  the  part  of  his  old  friend  we  need  not 
wonder  that  his  expectations  were  high  of  having  a  fellow  la- 
bourer, and  that  his  disappointment  was  proportional,  when, 
even  after  so  clear  a  call  as  the  almost  unanimous  voice  of  the 
Synod,  y\r.  JMacBean  refused  to  cinue  to  Pictou.  He  was  set- 
tled in  Inverness  under  the  following  circumstances,  as  stated 
by  the  Kev.  P.  Buchanan:  "  Tlie  congregation  of  Inverness  is 
small,  and  the  most  of  them  very  poor.  They  have  however 
promised  £20  of  stipend,  their  greatest  dependence  for  the 
payment  of  which  is  on  occasional  hearers  and  the  future  in- 
crease of  the  congregation.  But  Mr.  MacBean  is  resolved  to 
be  content  with  whatever  tlioy  shall  be  able  to  give."  His  life 
afterward  was  not  a  happy  one.  The  congregation  did  not  grow, 
but  continued  always  small  and  poor,  and  to  be  able  to  live  at  all, 
he  found  it  necessary  to  follow  teaching  or  some  other  en)ploy- 
ment,  and  finally  was  involved  in  charges  of  immorality  which 
brought  him  under  the  discipline  of  the  church. 

It  is  interesting  to  ccmtrast  the  history  of  Dr.  MacGregor 
and  him.  They  were  intimate  friends, — both  possessed  of  good 
talents,  and  both  professed  to  have  devoted  themselves  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  But  we  see  the  one,  when  called  to  go 
far  from  the  endearments  of  home,  cheerfully  complying,  endu- 
ring some  hardships  and  trials,  it  is  true,  but  graciously  sus- 
tained under  them  all — all  his  temporal  wants  supplied,  and  in 
old  age  surroun  ded  by  the  comforts  of  life, — but  especially  blessed 
in  spiritual  things — the  work  of  the  Lord  prospering  in  his 
hand,  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  becoming  glad  for 
him — living  to  see  many  congregations  which  he  had  been  the 
means  either  of  founding  or  of  cherishing  in  their  infancy — and 
in  old  age  venerated  through  more  than  one  Province,  and  dy- 
ing amid  wide-spread  expressions  of  sorrow  ;  the  other  refusing 
a  similar  call,  and  toiling  in  poverty — his  labours  blighted — and 
ending  his  days  with  his  character  under  a  cloud. 


REV.    JAMES    MACUllEGOIl,    D.D.  255 

But  his  disappointment  as  to  Mr.  MacBean  was  followed  by 
another  of  the  same  kind.  At  the  same  meeting  of  Synod  at 
W'hicli  he  was  appointed  to  Pictou,  Mr.  John  Cree  was  appointed 
to  Amherst,  with  liberty  to  return  in  three  years  if  he  pleased, 
and  consented  to  go.  Dr.  MacGregor  received  intelligence  of 
this,  and  his  heart  was  filled  with  joy.  For  some  months,  as 
:ip])oars  from  the  above  letter,  he  continued  in  this  expectation  ; 
but.  his  hopes  met  with  a  most  disheartening  disappointment. 
The  Presbytery  of  Glasgow,  which  had  been  appointed  to  meet 
prorcnataio  receive  his  trials  for  ordination,  had  met  and 
received  part  of  them;  "but,"  says  Mr.  Buist  some  days  after, 
**I  received  a  letter,  saying,  that  his  friends  had  persuaded  him, 
that  it  was  so  bad  a  climate  in  Nova  Scotia,  that  it  rained  half 
the  year,  and  was  so  cold  in  winter,  that  he  could  not  stand  it, 
as  in  cold,  damp  weather  his  throat  was  like  to  close — that  it 
was  better  to  break  his  promise,  than  to  go  and  be  useless ;  in  a 
word  that  he  was  determined  not  to  go." 

From  the  letter  above,  it  will  be  seen  that  "  patience  had  its 
perfect  work,"  and  that  he  became  resigned  to  such  disappoint- 
ments. Mr.  Buist  says  also,  "  I  am  glad  that  you  have  taken 
the  disappointment  so  well  as  to  Mr.  MacBean."  But,  in  his 
solitary  position,  and  with  so  many  places  around  him  clamor- 
ous for  the  bread  of  life,  these  disappointments,  particularly  af- 
ter the  persons  had  solemnly  promised  to  come,  and  for  months 
he  was  in  the  expectation  of  their  early  arrival,  were  among  the 
keenest  of  his  earthly  trials.  In  one  of  these  j-ears,  so  confi- 
dently did  he  expect  one  to  come  to  his  assistance,  that  he  de- 
ferred the  communion  in  expectation  of  his  arrival.  But  at 
length  when  the  time  appointed  was  approaching,  he  received 
intelligence  that  he  was  not  coming.  Donald  MacKay,  his  host, 
entering  his  room  about  the  time,  found  him  lying  on  tlie  floor, 
apparently  giving  up  in  despair.  'MVhat's  the  matter  with 
you  now  ?"  said  Donald.  He  told  him  of  his  disappointment, 
and  Donald  began  to  cheer  him.  He  arose,  and  in  a  little  said, 
''I  must  go  for  assistance,  where  I  have  often  gone  before,  and 
never  have  been  disappointed  yet."     He  accordingly  set  to  work 


256  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

at  his  prcpnration  for  tlie  services,  and  went  throii<;li  them  with 
great  comfort  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  people. 

The  letter  referred  to,  which  he  wrote  in  the  year  1792,  was 
printed  by  order  of  Synod,  with  notes  by  a  committee,  consist- 
ing of  Revs.  John  Buist,  Archibald  Bruce,  and  James  Robert- 
son. It  is  the  most  impressive  appeal  of  the  kind  we  have  ever 
read.  We  insert  a  copy  of  it  among  his  Remains,  as  we  are  cer- 
tain it  will  be  read  with  interest.  It  was  read  from  the  pulpit 
in  all  the  congregations  belonging  to  the  Synod,  and  was  pro- 
ductive of  good  results.  It  was  the  means,  not  only  of  exciting 
an  interest,  through  the  church  at  home,  in  the  state  of  Nova 
Scotia,  but  also,  as  we  shall  afterward  hear,  of  bringing  several 
ministers  to  Nova  Scotia. 

It  is  but  just  to  remark,  that  the  Synod  made  every  effort  to 
obtain  preachers  to  come  to  his  assistance — that  they  made  ap- 
pointments for  those  whom  they  thought  suitable,  and  took 
every  step,  short  of  actual  suspension,  to  induce  them  to  come, 
but  hitherto  had  always  been  unsuccessful.  We  find  Mr.  Buist's 
letters  full  of  the  subject,  stating  the  various  efforts  made,  and 
making  inquiries  as  to  the  suitableness  of  this  or  that  individual 
of  his  acquaintance.  And  we  may  remark  that  the  Synod  did 
not  appoint  persons  who  might  be  willing  to  go  without  regard 
to  their  qualifications.  We  find,  for  example,  in  1794,  a  person 
volunteering  to  go,  but  his  application  delayed  from  doubts  as 
to  his  suitableness. 

"This  year*  arrived  two  vessels  loaded  with  emigrants,  al- 
most all  Roman  Catholics,  from  the  Western  Islands  of  Scot- 
land. It  was  so  late  in  the  season  when  they  arrived,  that  few 
of  them  could  provide  houses  for  their  families  before  winter. 
I  entreated  my  people  to  be  kind  to  them,  and  help  them  to  the 
best  accommodation  they  could,  especially  during  tlie  winter, 
God  having  given  them  a  special  opportunity  of  attending  to 
the  scriptural  injunction,  '■  Be  not  forgetful  to  entertain  stran- 
gers.' I  was  delighted  with  the  readiness  with  which  the  con- 
gregation complied  with  my  entreaty.  Their  benevolence  far 
*  It  should  have  been  1791. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR;    D.D.  257 

exceeded  my  expectation,  and  afforded  a  beautiful  evidence  of 
the  power  of  divine  truth,  and  the  amiable  spirit  of  Christianity  ; 
and  to  this  day  these  Ilonian  Catholics  retain  a  grateful  sense 
of  the  kindness  they  then  experienced.  Several  hundreds  of 
them,  of  all  ages,  found  the  best  shelter  that  could  be  obtained 
till  they  could  provide  for  themselves.  Such  as  could  pay,  had 
it  at  a  very  moderate  price;  and  those  who  could  not,  had  it 
gratis. 

"  Many  of  tliem  came  to  hear  sermon  for  a  time,  and  there 
■was  a  fair  prospect  that  numbers  of  them  would  become  Prot- 
estant Presbyterians  ;  but  priest  MacEachran,  in  Prince  P]dward 
Island,  hearing  of  their  critical  situation,  paid  them  a  visit,  told 
them  of  the  danger  of  living  among  Protestants,  advised  them 
to  leave  Pictou,  to  go  eastward  along  the  Gulf  Shore  to  Cape 
Breton,  where  Protestants  would  not  trouble  them,  and  threat- 
ened them  with  excommunication  if  they  would  come  to  liear 
my  preaching.  A  good  number  of  them  obeyed  him  instantly, 
and  the  rest  by  degrees,  except  a  very  few  who  embraced  my 
gospel.  In  general  they  left  off  hearing,  and  quitted  their 
settlements  in  Pictou — and  not  a  few  of  them  with  much  re- 
luctance. 

"  But  they  were  more  dangerous  guests  in  the  congregation 
than  I  was  aware  of;  not  from  the  strength  of  their  arguments 
for  Popish  doctrines,  but  from  the  powerful  influence  of  their 
profane  conversation.  Much  of  their  time  was  spent  in  naughty 
diversions,  jestings  which  are  not  convenient  or  decent,  in  tell- 
ing extravagant  stories  of  miracles  done  by  priests,  and  absurd 
talcs  about  ghosts,  witches,  fairies,  &c.  The  minds  of  the 
Protestant  Highlanders,  being  partly  tinctured  with  these  su- 
perstitions before  the  arrival  of  the  Roman  Catholics,  were 
less  prepared  to  resist  their  influence  than  the  minds  of  more 
reasoning  and  sceptical  Christians.  They  had  been  pretty  much 
weaned  from  the  remains  which  the  first  settlers  brought  from 
Scotland,  but  this  new  flood  overwhelmed  them.  They  proved 
so  agreeable  to  the  fancy  of  simple  and  untutored  minds  as  to 
turn  many  to  fables,  and  in  some  degree  to  injure  those  who 
22* 


258  MEMOlll   OF   THE 

did  not  believe  them.  To  this  day  we  have  not  got  wholly  over 
these  bad  lessons.  What  poor  Cliristians  must  the  Catholics  be, 
who  have  these  things  for  their  Bible  !  "What  miserable  teach- 
ers are  the  priests,  who  prohibit  the  use  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
teach  pure  fables !" 

The  descendants  of  these  people,  with  numerous  other  emi- 
grants of  the  same  class,  arc  still  very  numerous  in  the  eastern 
parts  of  the  Province,  and  also  in  Prince  Edward  Island,  lie 
showed  them  great  kindness.  As  tliey  were  all  newly  begin- 
ning in  the  woods,  a  gift  which  he  gave  to  numbersof  them  was  an 
axe  and  a  hoe.  They  came  to  regard  him  with  great  venera- 
tion, supposing  him  to  possess  the  powers  which  they  attribu- 
ted to  their  own  priests,  and  giving  him  honour  accordingly. 
Two  amusing  anecdotes  of  this  may  be  given.  It  was  a  super- 
stition of  the  Highlanders,  that  if  an  animal  went  astray  a  good 
man  could  tell  where  it  was.  One  of  these,  having  lust  a  horse, 
came  to  the  Doctor  to  seek  his  assistance  to  find  it.  It  had  so 
happened  that  the  day  previous  being  Sabbath,  the  Doctor,  on 
his  way  from  preaching  at  the  Upper  Settlement,  had  seen  a 
horse  by  the  way-side,  and  horses  being  then  rare,  his  attention 
was  arrested  by  it.  On  the  man's  coming  to  him  he  recollected 
the  circumstance,  but  began  to  reason  with  him  on  tlie  folly  of 
supposing  that  he  should  be  able  to  discover  his  horse.  The 
man  was  going  away  in  despair,  and  still  believing  that  it  was 
from  want  of  will  rather  than  want  of  power,  that  he  did  not 
tell  where  the  horse  was ;  when  the  Doctor  said,  "  Well,  don't 
despond.  I  saw  a  horse  at  such  a  place,  and  perhaps  he  is 
yours."  The  man  went  to  the  place  indicated,  and  found  tiie 
horse,  and,  ever  after  believed  that  it  was  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
that  the  Doctor  had  discovered  where  it  was. 

On  another  occasion,  a  woman  had  a  cow  under  some  com- 
plaint. She  was  convinced  that  he  could  cure  it,  if  he  chose, 
and  he  happening  to  be  at  her  place,  she  pressed  him  to  go  to 
see  the  cow.  He  told  her  that  he  could  do  nothing  for  her. 
She,  however,  insisted ;  urging  him  only  to  lay  his  hand  upon 
her.     As  she  would  take  no  denial,  he,  at  length  went,  and  lay- 


REV.    JAMES    INIACGREGOR,    D.D.  259 

ing  a  rod  which  he  had  in  his  hand  upon  her  back,  he  said, 
"  If  yoa  live  you  live,  and  if  you  die  you  die."  The  cow  re- 
covered. Some  time  after,  the  Doctor  himself  had  a  sore 
throat,  and  this  old  woman  came  to  see  him.  As  soon  as  she 
entered  the  room,  she  said,  **  Ah,  if  you  live  you  live,  and  if 
you  die  you  die."  He  immediately  recollected  the  circum- 
stance, and  he  burst  out  laughing,  which  broke  the  abscess  that 
had  been  forming,  which  discharged,  and  he  soon  got  better. 
Their  gratitude  for  the  kindness  they  experienced  from  him  was 
great,  and  to  this  day  there  is  retained  among  them  a  deep  venera- 
tion for  his  memory. 

As  the  superstitions  of  the  Highlanders  are  here  referred  to, 
we  may  mention  that,  throughout  his  whole  ministerial  career, 
he  had  more  or  less  of  this  to  contend  with,  both  in  public  and 
private.  On  one  of  his  papers  we  find  the  following  memoran- 
dum, as  if  of  subjects  on  which  he  meant  to  address  them  : — 

"  Thursday  marriages — and  going  that  night  to  the  brides, — 
afraid  of  dogs, — bride-cake. 

Prejudice  against  inoculation. 

Christmas  holiday. 

Witches  taking  the  milk  from  the  cows. 

Wonderful  stories  of  ghosts,  fairies,  and 

Miracles  and  prophecies. 

Cannot  go  to  sermon  in  time  of  proclamation,  and  before  bap- 
tism of  child." 

These  and  similar  points,  he  was  often  called  upon  to  discuss, 
both  publicly  and  privately.  Some  of  them  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  church.  The  witch  controversy,  especially,  as  we  shall 
see,  excited  much  attention.  In  the  meantime  we  may  give 
one  or  two  incidents,  which  severely  tried  his  own  faith  in  the 
doctrines  which  he  was  so  often  called  upon  to  maintain,  regard- 
ing ghosts.  On  one  occasion,  returning  home  late  at  night,  in 
fact,  near  that  hour,  "  of  nicht's  black  arch  the  keystane,"  which, 
according  to  all  authorities  in  such  matters,  is  specially  favoured 
by  ghosts  and  witches,  he  saw,  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  a  fig- 
ure in  white  standing  apparently  in  mid  air  ahead  of  him,  close 


260  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

by  the  road.  His  horse  was  startled,  and  so  was  he  for  a  little 
hiiiiselt",  but  he  immediately  saw  that  it  would  never  answer  for 
hiui  to  draw  back  or  to  sliow  fear.  He  accordingly  went  up  to 
it  and  found  that  it  was  a  poor,  insane  woman,  living  close  by, 
who  had  left  her  bed  at  that  time  of  night,  and  wrapping 
the  sheet  round  her,  had  taken  that  position  on  a  stump.  At 
anotlier  time  a  report  had  arisen  that  at  a  certain  place  on  the 
East  River,  somcthinrf  had  been  seen.  Several  individuals  re- 
ported so,  but  no  precise  account  of  its  nature  or  appearance 
could  be  given,  for,  in  fact  none  had  courage  to  examine.  One 
night,  the  Doctor  riding  home  past  this  place,  also  saw  something. 
It  appeared  bright,  and  shining  under  the  rnys  of  the  moon. 
He  rode  up  to  it  without  discovering  what  it  was,  till  he  came 
close  to  it,  and  gave  it  a  tap  with  his  rod,  when  he  found  it  to 
be  a  very  large  hornets'  nest.  On  another  occasion,  going  along 
the  road  at  night,  he  saw  something  white  on  the  road,  and  on 
going  toward  it,  it  moved  from  him.  He  pursued  it,  but  still 
it  seemed  determined  to  avoid  him.  At  length,  after  a  vigorous 
chase  he  caught  it,  and  found  it  to  be  a  sheet,  or  some  white 
article  of  apparel,  driven  by  the  wind.  This  last  incident  Mr. 
Ross  used  to  make  the  subject  of  many  a  joke. 

His  labours  for  the  spiritual  good  of  these  people  were  not 
in  vain,  as  appears  from  the  remaining  part  of  his  account 
of  them. 

"  Four  of  these  Catholics  became  converts — one  of  whom  de- 
serves more  particular  notice  than  the  rest.  She  was  a  smart 
woman,  but  a  complete  bigot  to  Popery,  and  her  husband  was  a 
Protestant.  They  had  agreed  very  well  in  Scotland,  because  the 
principal  difference  in  their  religious  profession  was  in  name; 
but  when  they  came  to  Pictou,  he  became  seriously  concerned 
about  his  soul ;  and  among  other  changes  which  took  place  in 
his  conduct,  was  the  setting  up  of  the  worship  of  God  in  liis 
family,  morning  and  evening.  This  she  could  not  bear,  and 
thought  it  her  duty,  as  she  could  not  prevent  it,  to  disturb  it  as 
much  as  she  could.  He  resented  this;  and  the  consequence 
was^  that  she  left  his  house.     He  was  vexed,  and  came  to  ask 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOU,    D.D.  261 

my  advice.  I  advised  him  to  go  after  hor,  to  speak  kindly  to 
her,  to  invite  her  home  in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  to  pro- 
mise that  he  VFould  never  disturb  her  devotion,  and  to  dem;ind 
that  she  sliould  not  disturb  his,  either  in  the  family  or  the  closet. 
He  took  the  advice,  and  brought  her  home.  Soon  after  she 
broujiht  him  a  child  ;  and  happening  to  meet  him  a  day  or  two 
after,  he  said  he  was  in  some  difficulty  about  the  baptism  of  the 
child,  as  there  was  no  woman  near  to  suckle  it,  and  she  would 
not  carry  it  to  the  meeting-house  herself,  as  she  would  not  hear 
Die  preach.  Having  occasion,  in  two  or  three  days'  time,  to  be 
near  liis  house,  I  proposed  to  preach  a  sermon  at  his  house  then, 
and  baptize  the  child,  when  she  would  be  obliged  to  hear,  be- 
cause she  could  not  run  off.  This  proposal  jilensed  liim.  He 
advertised  bis  neighbours,  and,  on  the  day  appointed,  I  went. 
On  entering  the  house  I  found  a  number  of  the  neighbours  col- 
lected, and  saw  her  lying  in  a  corner.  She  met  my  eyes  with  a 
most  piercing  and  disdainful  look.  I  asked  her  how  sb.e  did. 
She  replied,  '  As  well  as  I  could  expect.'  I  said,  '  You  ought 
to  be  very  thankful,  then.'  She  said,  '  Yes.'  I  soon  began 
public  worship  by  singing  and  prayer,  and  could  not  help  look- 
ing towards  her  before  reading  out  the  text.  I  noticed  that  her 
looks  were  chnnged  to  mildness,  and  took  couracre.  The  text 
was  Acts  xvi.  31  :  '  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved.'  I  endeavoured  to  show  our  need  of  salvation, 
that  Christ  bestows  it  freely,  and  that  believing  in  him  is  the 
means  of  possessing  it.  She  appeared  to  drink  in  every  word 
with  eagerness.  She  never  showed  the  least  desire,  after  that 
day,  to  see  the  priest :  and  she  has  ever  since  maintained  the 
character  of  a  pious,  prudent,  and  zealous  Christian.* 

*TIiis  woman  was  a  Mrs.  An«;us  MacQiiarrie,  who  lived  on  the  east  lir.Tnch 
of  the  E.'ist  River,  near  where  the  Rev.  A.  JIactJillivrny  now  resides.  AVhen 
her  husband  first  e.Tine  to  Dr.  MacGrcfror,  the  lani^unge  he  used  in  exhorting 
him  to  patience  and  kindness  with  her  was,  '"  We  must  not  send  a  rattle  after 
a  wild  horse;"  She  was  .a  very  intelligent  woman,  and  lived  the  life  of  a  con- 
sistent Christian.  Her  mother-in-law  also  became  a  convert.  They  were 
both  very  well  informed  regarding  the  errors  of  popery,  and  very  determined 
against  them. 


262  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

We  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  an  account  of  an  inter- 
esting journey  of  wliich  lie  takes  no  notice,  performed  as 
neirly  ns  we  can  ascertain  in  the  winter  of  1793,  viz.,  to  River 
John,  Tataiua<rouclie,  and  Walhice.  These  places  are  situated 
on  the  North  Shore  of  the  Province,  at  distances  respectively 
of  eighteen,  thirty-two,  and  fifty  miles  from  Pictou  to  the  West- 
ward. 

The  settlers  in  River  John,  and  most  of  those  in  Tatama- 
gouche,  were  Protestants  from  the  continent  of  Europe.  One 
or  two  families  were  the  descendants  of  French  Hujruenots, 
who  had  left  their  native  land  at  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes.     The  others  were  Swiss. 

On  their  first  settlement  in  Tatamagouche,  they  endured  great 
hardships,  having  often  to  carry  potatoes  on  their  backs  from 
Truro,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  and  having  frequently  to  re- 
sort to  some  plants  growing  on  the  marsh,  which  when  boiled 
made  a  palatable  sort  of  greens.  At  the  time  of  his  first  visit- 
ing them,  the  New  Lights  had  come  among  them  and  hud  got 
the  people  into  a  state  of  the  wildest  excitement,  when  John 
Langill  and  George  Patriquin,  of  River  John,  afterward  elders 
in  the  congregation  there,  started  on  snow  shoes  to  endeavour 
to  induce  Doctor  MacGregor  to  visit  them.  The  Doctor  at  once 
set  out  with  them.  Between  Pictou  and  River  John  was  an 
unbroken  forest.  There  was  not  even  a  blaze,  neither  was  there 
a  single  settler  on  the  shore  between  the  two  places.  They 
started  from  about  where  the  Three  Mile  House  now  stands,  of 
course  on  snow  shoes,  and  directing  their  course  by  means  of  a 
pocket  compass,  they  came  out  at  Man  of  War  Point  as  it  is 
called,  about  a  mile  up  the  river  from  where  the  village  now 
stands.  There  were  then  only  six  families  in  the  settlement  of 
the  class  already  described,  who  had  removed  from  Tatama- 
gouche in  consequence  of  Col.  DesBarres  refusing  to  sell  his 
lands.  He  preached  ir)  a  private  house,  visited  them  all,  and 
baptized  a  number  of  children.  He  quieted  the  minds  of  the 
people  and  entirely  stopped  the  progress  of  the  New  Lights. 

He  next  proceeded   to  Tatamagouche.      Between  the  two 


REV.    JAMES    MACOIIEQOR,    D.D.  263 

places  there  was  neither  path  nor  Maze,  the  usual  way  of  tra- 
velling beina:  either  by  Avater  or  walking  along  shore.  This 
place,  however,  Iiad  ori.riiially  been  sotrled  by  the  French,  who 
hail  made  considerable  progress.  A  con;<iderable  extent  of 
land  on  the  shores  of  the  Bay  and  Harbour,  from  below  the 
church  to  .MacCuIley's  hud  been  cleared  by  them,  and  the  fur- 
rows were  still  visible.  The  intervale  both  on  Waugh's  River 
and  French  River  had  also  been  cultivated  by  them,  and  on  the 
former  they  had  commenced  the  smelting  of  copper.  They  had, 
however,  abandoned  the  country  after  the  peace  of  17Go. 
There  were,  however,  still  to  be  seen  the  romnins  of  their  grist 
mills.  Traces  also  of  a  grave  yard,  with  the  cross  still  standing 
at  the  head  of  the  graves,  and  of  a  Romish  chapel,  were  to  be 
seen  between  what  is  now  Mr.  "Wm.  Campbell's  field  and  the 
school-house.  There  were  then  but  fourteen  families  in  the 
settlement.  Of  these  three  were  Scotch,  and  the  rest  of  the 
class  already  described,  all  Protestants,  the  latter  Lutherans 
and  the  former  Presbyterians.  They  were  not  careless  about 
religious  matters,  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting  on  the 
Sabbath  day  and  having  prayers  read.  They  had  secured  the 
services  of  a  Mr.  Kelley,  as  a  teacher  to  their  families,  an  in- 
telligent, amiable,  and  industrious  man,  to  whom  they  all  be- 
came much  attached,  and  through  whom  they  obtained  instruc- 
tion in  the  elementary  branches  of  education.  Only  a  few  of 
the  old  people  could  not  read  or  speak  English.  This  Kelley, 
however,  set  out  for  Truro,  but  never  returned.  Afterwards  his 
body  was  found  near  a  pond  where  he  had  perished  of  cold  and 
hunger,  after  having  erected  a  slight  shelter  and  made  a  fire. 
His  loss  proved  a  great  injury  to  the  moral  and  religious  im- 
provement of  the  people.  There  were  no  roads  beyond  the 
immediate  bounds  of  the  settlement,  and  even,  within  these 
bounds,  they  were  scarcely  passable  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year. 
The  weather  was  very  stormy  during  his  visit,  so  that  he  did 
not  travel  much.  He  lodged  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Wellwood 
Waugh,  on  Waugh's  River,  and  persons  wishing  baptism  came 
there  to  converse  with  him  before  Sabbath.     On  that  day  he 


264  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

preached  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  James  Bipney,  which  stood  in 
what  is  now  Mr.  "William  Campbell's  field  near  the  Bank.  A 
number  came  from  \Yallace  and  other  places  adjacent,  and  so 
large  was  the  assembly,  or  so  small  the  building,  that  when 
parents  held  up  children  to  be  baptized,  they  had  to  go  into  the 
open  air  to  find  standing  room. 

On  the  A)ll()wiiig  day  he  proceeded  to  "Wallace,  then  called 
Ramslipg,  where  he  went  through  similar  services.  The  num- 
ber (if  families  there  was  about  twenty,  mostly  loyalists  from 
New  York.  He  then  returned  home,  having  spent  altogether 
between  three  and  four  weeks  on  the  mission. 

We  may  mention  that  two  years  after  he  undertook  a  similar 
mission,  but  this  tin)e  it  was  in  summer,  and  he  went  along  the 
shore  to  River  John.  But  we  have  gleaned  no  particular  in- 
formation regarding  it.  About  eighteen  years  later,  a  large 
immigration  of  Highlanders  took  place,  who  settled  on  the 
opposite  side  of  "Wallace  Bay,  whom  he  and  the  other  members 
of  the  Presbytery  visited  occasionally. 


REV     JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  265 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

CONTINUED    LABOURS    AT    HOME    AND   ABROAD. — 1793-1795. 

"  Bo  not  vrcary  in  well  doing,  for  in  due  season  ye  shall  reap,  if  ye  faint  not.'' 
Gal.  vi.  9. 

As  the  life  and  labours  of  Doctor  MacGregor  are  closel}'  con- 
nected with  the  social  progress  of  Pictou,  we  may  here  notice 
an  important  change,  which  took  place  about  this  time,  viz., 
the  introduction  of  law.  Hitherto  the  settlers  might  be  con- 
sidered as  one  family.  Squire  Patterson  had  managed  almost 
all  their  secular  affairs.  Indeed  until  the  arrival  of  Doctor 
MacGregor  he  performed  the  ceremony  of  marriage,  after  notice 
had  been  duly  posted  up  in  several  parts  of  the  county.  With 
him  was  associated,  as  possessing  a  kindred  influence,  John 
Patterson,  commonly  known  as  Deacon  Patterson,  and  after  his 
dcatli  as  the  old  Deacon,  from  his  son  being  also  an  elder  of  the 
church.  "For  many  years  after  his  arrival  here,  there  was 
neither  law  nor  lawyers.  In  those  happy  times  men  took  the 
scriptural  mode  of  settling  disputes.  They  were  not  afraid  to 
leave  the  adjustment  of  '  things  that  pertain  to  this  life,'  to 
their  conscientious  neighbours.  These  two  old  Patriarchs,  the 
squire  and  the  deacon,  famed  as  they  were  for  integrity  and  sound 
sense,  became  the  general  peacemakers.  None  dared  or  wished 
to  gainsay  their  decisions.  Generally  when  two  men  in  any 
place  are  upon  an  equality,  the  disposition  to  be  first,  so  uni- 
versally distributed  among  men,  creates  feuds  between  them, 
?3 


266  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

and  the  public  good  is  left  in  the  back  ground,  and  the  public 
peace  disturbed.  The  two  good  men  of  whom  we  are  speaking 
formed  an  honourable  exception  from  that  common  occurrence. 
They  lived  together  not  merely  on  good  terms,  but  a  pattern  of 
warm  and  inflexible  friendship."* 

But,  during  the  few  years  that  had  elapsed  since  Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor's  arrival,  the  population  had  considerably  increased.  A 
number  of  pious  Highland  families  were  attracted  hither  from 
other  parts  of  the  Province  by  his  preaching,  and  a  consider- 
able emigration  of  Highlanders,  both  Protestant  and  Catholic, 
took  place  about  the  years  1791  and  1792.  This  rapid  increase 
of  population  now  caused  those  halcyon  dajs  to  cease,  and  in 
1792,  an  order  was  issued  by  Government  for  holding  an  in- 
ferior court  in  this  town.  This  was  followed  by  the  erection  of 
a  jail  in  the  year  1794.  It  stood  where  the  house  of  James  D. 
B.  Fraser,  Esq.,  now  stands,  and  was  built  by  the  late  John 
Patterson.  We  have  his  account  for  it  in  our  possession,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  amount  levied  fur  its  erection,  was 
paid  principally  in  produce ;  wheat  and  maple  sugar  being  the 
chief  articles  of  exchange.  Another  change  also  may  be  no- 
ticed. Previously  each  settler  had  acted  in  a  great  measure  as 
artizan  for  his  own  family,  but  such  an  increase  led  to  mechanics 
devoting  their  time  to  their  several  employments,  and  thus  in- 
troduced more  of  that  division  of  labour,  characteristic  of  a 
more  advanced  state  of  society. 

Turning  to  the  congregation,  we  may  insert  here  a  brief 
memorandum,  which  we  have  found  in  his  own  hand  writing, 
written  on  his  return  from  his  visit  to  River  John,  described  in 
the  last  chapter.  "Communicants,  240;  Exaniinables,  500." 
"  Ramshak,  20  families;  Tatamagouche,  14;  River  Jones,  G ; 
Merigomish,  30."  Below  is  also  the  following,  the  figures  on 
which  we  presume  denote  families.  "  Harbour,  40 ;  West 
River,  30;  Middle  River,  18;  East  River,  90."     Total,  178. 

This  memorandum  is  written  on  the  back  of  a  letter  from  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Brown,  of  Halifax,  mentioning  "the  sending  out 
*  Col.  Patriot,  v.  1. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGRKOOIl,    D.D.  267 

of  a  large  supply  of  Bibles,  Testaments,  and  pious  tracts,  by 
the  Trustees  of  a  collection  made  some  years  ago  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Dissenting  interest,  to  be  distributed  among  the  most 
indigent,  and  of  these  among  the  best  disposed  in  their  con- 
gregations," and  offering  a  supply  to  the  Doctor  for  the  benefit  of 
liis  congregation.  The  same  letter  solicits,  for  the  information  of 
the  Trustees,  a  statement  of  the  extent  of  the  district,  the  number 
of  fjimilies  in  it,  the  number  of  communicants,  examinables,  &c. 

These  books  and  tracts  we  need  not  say  were  gladly  received 
and  extensively  circulated.  Wc  may  here  notice  an  act  of  be- 
nevolence of  a  similar  kind  toward  his  congregation,  which,  as 
taking  place  previous  to  the  formation  of  either  Bible  or  Tract 
Societies,  is  worthy  of  record.  We  shall  give  it  in  the  words 
of  Mr.  Buist  as  contained  in  a  letter  of  date  19th  March  1793. 

"■  I  also  send  you  a  large  box,  a  present  from  David  Dale, 
Esq.,  Glasgow,  of  60  Bibles,  60  Spelling  Books,  60  Primers, 
for  you  to  give  to  the  poor  Highlanders,  and  he  desires  me  to 
say  to  you,  he  will  send  you  more  if  the  Lord  spare  him,  and 
enable  him  to  do  it,  and  you  think  it  will  spread  the  glorious 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  These  are  his  words.  I  think 
you  should  write  him  a  letter  of  thanks.  I  will  convey  it  to 
him.  I  know  they  cost  him  £12,  and  are  worth  three  times 
that  with  you.  I  have  got  them  freight  free  and  free  of  cus- 
tom house.  His  goodness  is  uncommon  in  this  age  of  the  world. 
He  is  delighted,  I  gave  him  a  hint  to  do  good." 

It  may  not  be  going  too  far  out  of  our  way  to  notice  that 
this  individual  was  long  well  known  in  Glasgow,  especially  for 
his  large  hearted  benevolence.  He  entered  Glasgow  with  six- 
pence in  his  pocket,  and  died  worth  £180,000.  He  used  to  say 
that  he  gave  away  in  gowpies  or  handfuUs,  but  that  God  gave 
him  back  in  shovelfulls.  He  was  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  "  Peasemeal  David,"  from  the  circumstance  that  in  a  year 
of  great  scarcity  during  the  last  war,  he  imported  from  Holland 
a  cargo  of  pease,  which  he  got  gi'ound,  and  sold  to  the  poor  at 
cost  and  charges,  or  gave  gratuitously  to  the  very  necessitous. 

Resuming  Dr.  MacGregor's  narrative,  it  opens  for  this  year 


268  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

■with  a  short  account  of  an  incident  in  his  congregation  which 
for  a  time  agitated  the  minds  of  the  people  and  gave  him  con- 
siderable uneasiness. 

"  1793.  Robert  Marshall  and  Donald  MacKay,  two  of  the 
elders,  and  perhaps  the  two  foremost  Christians  in  Pictou,  be- 
ing overreached  by  the  craft  of  an  insidious  enemy  to  the  gos- 
pel, were  prevailed  upon  to  subscribe  a  paper  injurious  to  the 
character  of  one  of  their  neighbours.  The  deed  gave  general 
offence,  and  as  soon  as  they  themselves  saw  its  import,  they 
were  exceedingly  sorry.  When  the  session  dealt  with  them, 
they  proposed,  themselves,  as  the  best  method  of  undoing  the 
evil,  to  accept  of  a  public  rebuke.  With  reluctance  the  session 
yielded,  and  it  was  done — only  it  could  not,  with  propriety,  be 
called  rebuke.  I  stated  to  the  congregation,  as  fairly  as  I  could, 
both  the  fact  and  the  state  of  the  two  elders'  minds  concerning 
it,  and  exhorted  them  to  watch  against  the  craft  of  the  enemy. 
I  exhorted  the  congregation  highly  to  esteem  the  elders,  and  to 
profit  by  that  example  of  submissive  and  cheerful  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  fault  which  they  had  given.  The  feelings  of  all 
were  excited  in  a  very  lively  and  affectionate  manner,  and  the 
design  of  the  enemy  was  completely  frustrated.  Besides,  we 
had  an  opportunity  of  admiring  the  wisdom  and  propriety  of 
Paul's  direction  to  Timothy,  <  Eebuke  not  an  elder,  but  entreat 
him  as  a  father.'  " 

As  to  labours  abroad  we  find  that  this  summer  he  had  a  peti- 
tion to  visit  Halifax,  addressed  to  him  by  a  committee  of  a  con- 
gregation recently  become  vacant.  They  represent  themselves 
as  having  been  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Fur- 
mage,  who  had  been  removed  by  death — that  they  held  the  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel — that  Arminianism  prevailed  around  them, 
and  that  they  desired  him  to  visit  them,  and  advise  with 
them  especially  as  to  obtaining  a  minister,  and  that,  should  he 
do  so,  they  will  pay  his  expenses.  What  advice  he  gave  them 
we  know  not,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  visited  them.  lie 
had  preached  in  Halifax  at  the  time  of  William  MacKay's  law- 
suit,  and   on    some   other   occasions   afterward.     But  for   this 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREOOK,    D.D.  269 

summer  he  sets  down  his  first  visit  to  portions  of  the  county 
of  Hants,  which  have  since  become  a  flourishing  part  of  the 
church. 

"  Petitions  were  sent  to  the  session  from  Chiganois,  Shube- 
nacadie,  Noel,  and  Kennetcook.  I  was  appointed  to  give  a  Sab- 
bath to  each.  I  had  preached  before  at  Chiganois ;  the  rest 
were  new  places,  situated  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay.  A  copy 
of  my  printed  letter  to  the  Synod  had,  somehow,  found  its  way 
to  them,  and  it  excited  them  to  apply  to  me  for  two  or  three 
Sabbaths'  labour  among  them,  and  to  resolve  upon  applying  to 
the  Synod  for  a  minister,  if  I  should  not  discourage  them.  I 
preached  at  the  several  settlements,  and  on  week-days  conversed 
with  them  on  the  subject  of  applying  for  a  minister.  I  told 
them  that  no  minister  had  come  in  answer  to  four  applications 
already  made.  They  replied  that  they  were  not  ready  for  the 
reception  of  a  minister,  and  as  he  would  not  probably  arrive 
for  some  years,  it  was  best  to  make  the  application  now,  that 
they  might  be  making  ready  for  his  coming,  and  that  the 
Synod  might  know  to  be  providing  for  them.  I  said,  farther, 
that  I  was  afraid  that,  on  account  of  the  extent  of  their  settle- 
ments, and  the  thinness  of  their  population,  and  want  of  roads, 
&c.,  the  fatigue  of  serving  them  would  be  too  much  for  any 
one  minister.  They  replied  that  a  very  little  service  from  a 
minister  might  do  them  much  good,  and  they  would  be  content 
with  what  he  could  do ;  and  that,  on  their  part,  they  would 
accommodate  him  as  far  as  in  them  lay,  to  lessen  his  fatigue. 
Thus  I  agreed  to  write  the  petition  for  them,  and  send  it  to  the 
Synod. 

"  In  returning  home,  both  myself  and  my  horse  were  in  im- 
minent danger  of  death,  in  crossing  Salmon  Eiver  bridge,  fif- 
teen miles  from  the  West  River  of  Pictou.  The  bridge  was 
formed  in  the  following  manner : — Over  an  upright  pier,  on 
each  side  of  the  river,  were  laid  three  long  logs,  at  least  forty- 
five  feet  long,  so  as  to  extend  fifteen  feet  beyond  the  pier  on  the 
river;  the  other  end  extending  thirty  feet  on  the  land,  and  hav- 
ing heavy  logs  laid  across  them  near  the  end,  to  overbalance 
23* 


270  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

any  weight  that  might  be  on  the  bridge.  The  long  logs  are 
called  hutments.  Three  other  logs  were  laid  with  their  ends 
resting  on  the  inner  ends  of  the  butments,  fifteen  feet  from  the 
piers,  filling  the  interval  space.  The  round  of  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  log  was  hewn  away  by  the  axe,  and  thus  the  bridge 
was  finished  with  nine  long  logs.  Spans  of  ninety  or  one  hun- 
dred feet  are  made  in  this  way. 

"  Riding  along  this  bridge,  my  horse's  right  hind  foot  went 
down  between  the  logs  (their  outside  being  rotten),  and  he 
could  not  pull  it  out,  because  he  always  pulled  it  aslant  forward, 
and  not  straight  up  as  he  put  it  down.  He  tossed  and  strug- 
gled fearfully  to  get  it  out,  but  in  vain ;  and  as  the  bridge  was 
narrow,  he  was  often  within  an  inch  of  tossing  both  himself  and 
me  over.  I  made  many  attempts  to  get  off  him,  but  could  not, 
for  I  had  no  way  to  come  off  but  to  alight  upon  one  side  while 
he  tossed  to  the  other,  but  before  I  could  do  this  he  still  tossed 
back,  so  that  I  had  to  keep  ray  seat  till  he  fatigued  himself  in- 
to calmness.  When  I  got  off  him,  I  tried  with  all  my  might  to 
push  hiui  back,  that  he  might  pull  his  leg  straight  up,  but  in  vain. 
After  resting  a  little,  he  began  again  to  toss  and  struggle,  so 
that  I  was  oftentimes  within  an  inch  of  being  thrown  over.  I 
was  in  absolute  need  of  help,  but  travellers  seldom  passed,  and  I 
might  long  wait  in  vain  fur  assistance.  There  was  a  house  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  down  the  river  from  the  bridge,  and  another 
a  little  further  off  up  the  river,  and  I  shouted  with  all  my  might, 
hoping  that  somebody  would  hear  me,  but  in  vain.  I  resolved, 
however,  not  to  abandon  the  poor  animal.  I  waited  long,  and 
at  last,  to  my  great  joy,  saw  a  person  passing  very  slowly  from 
the  house  above  to  that  below.  I  told  him  my  distress,  and 
begged  him  to  run  as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  house  below,  and 
send  me  somebody.  He  went  away  so  slowly  that  I  made  my- 
self sure  that  he  rejoiced  at  my  calamity,  and  I  was  sufficiently 
angry  and  grieved.  The  horse,  wearied  out  with  struggling, 
at  last  lay  down  quietly  on  the  bridge,  and  if  I  had  had  patience, 
my  work  in  attending  him  would  not  have  been  difficult.  Af- 
ter long  waiting,  I  at  last  saw  a  woman  coming  in  all  haste  with 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  271 

an  axe  in  her  hand.  As  the  horse  was  quiet,  I  took  time  to 
bid  her  not  be  alarmed,  and  to  ask  her  if  there  was  nobody  to 
send  but  herself,  and  what  that  wonderfully  slow  man  was 
who  informed  her  of  my  situation.  She  said  that  none  of  the 
men  were  at  home ;  and  as  for  that  poor  man,  '  he  did  his  best ; 
he  is  dying-  fust,  and  can  scarcely  drag  one  foot  after  the  other.' 
1  was  now  more  angry  at  myself  than  I  was  before  at  him,  for 
I  had  left  no  possible  place  of  excuse  for  him. 

**  I  gave  the  bridle  to  the  woman,  desiring  her,  if  the  horse 
should  struggle,  to  hold  him  as  firmly  as  she  could,  only  to  let 
him  go  over  rather  than  herself.  I  took  the  axe  and  went  to 
cut  the  hole  wider,  to  let  up  the  foot.  This  required  caution, 
for  as  the  horse  lay  down  upon  the  bridge,  he  let  down  his  thigh 
through  the  hole  as  far  as  it  could  go,  so  that  I  was  in  danger 
of  cutting  his  thigh  every  stroke.  By  care  I  widened  the  hole 
without  hurting  the  horse's  leg,  pulled  it  up  gently,  and  laid 
it  across  the  hole  under  him.  I  then  went  and  got  a  broad  thin 
stone,  and  laid  it  over  the  hole,  lest  he  should  put  his  foot  in  it 
again,  when  he  should  get  up.  I  took  the  bridle  from  the  wo- 
man and  bade  him  get  up,  which  he  did  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. Thus  a  kind  Providence  brought  about  my  deliverance 
wonderfully. 

"  Two  or  three  years  afterwards,  a  better  bridge  was  built 
here.  The  logs  were  properly  squared,  and  a  rail  was  put  on 
both  sides  for  the  protection  of  passengers.  On  this  bridge  T 
was  in  as  great  danger,  and  had  as  remarkable  a  deliverance, 
but  both  very  sudden.  Going  along  one  morning  when  the 
smoothed  surface  of  the  log  was  covered  with  hoar-frost,  and 
the  shoes  of  my  horse  were  worn  smooth,  his  right  hind  foot 
slid  away,  so  that  he  fell  against  the  rail  and  broke  it:  but  the 
rail  also  broke  his  fall,  so  that  he  recovered  himself.  When 
I  heard  the  rail  cracking,  I  thought  we  were  over  for  cer- 
tain, and  perhaps  killed.  What  a  happy  disappointment,  that 
next  moment  I  found  we  were  both  safe !  '  The  Lord  is  thy 
keeper.' 

"  Upon  another  occasion  both  my  horse  and  I  actually  fell 


272  MEMOIR    OP   THE 

over  a  bridge  into  the  water,  but  sustained  no  other  damage 
than  being  alarmed  and  thoroughly  wetted.  It  was  a  very  rainy 
day,  the  timber  of  the  bridge  was  very  slippery,  and  the  horse's 
shoes  smooth.  He  seemed  to  me  to  lose  all  his  feet  at  once,  for 
in  a  moment  he  played  plash  in  the  water  upon  his  side.  The 
bridge  was  not  high,  and  the  water  pretty  deep,  so  that  in  our 
fall  we  struck  the  water  only,  and  were  not  hurt.  I  endeavoured 
instantly  to  disentangle  my  feet  from  the  stirrups,  lest  the  horse 
in  saving  himself  should  draw  me  after  him,  and  either  drown 
me  or  break  my  bones  against  logs  or  stones.  I  succeeded,  and 
we  both  got  to  our  feet  soon,  for  the  water  was  not  deep  enough 
to  swim  him.  We  made  for  the  shore,  he  with  ease,  I  with 
difficulty,  as  my  clothes  became  a  heavy  burden,  and  the  stream 
was  pretty  strong.  I  mounted  and  rode  off,  thankful  for  God's 
goodness." 

This  last  we  believe  took  place  at  the  Middle  River,  and  it 
was  remarked,  that  when  he  came  home  he  quietly  changed  his 
clothes,  as  if  nothing  unusual  had  happened.  But  these  were 
not  the  only  occasions  in  which  he  was  exposed  to  inconvenience, 
and  even  actual  danger  in  crossing  the  streams,  which  every 
where  traverse  this  country.  On  one  occasion,  coming  over  to 
the  West  River  to  preach,  in  descending  Green  Hill,  back  of  the 
residence  of  George  MacDonald,  Esq.,  (such  was  then  the  course 
of  the  road,)  a  freshet  had  floated  away  the  covering  logs  of  the 
bridge  across  the  brook.  He  passed  along  without  observing 
this,  and  soon  he  and  his  horse  plunged  into  the  stream.  He 
got  thoroughly  wet,  and  came  to  the  house  of  Mr.  MacLellan, 
who  lived  close  by.  They  could  give  him  a  pair  of  striped 
trousers  for  a  change,  but  they  had  not  a  black  pair.  So  he 
dried  his  clothes  a  little  by  the  fire,  and  then  preached. 

In  his  "  Memorabilia"  we  find  the  two  following  entries  : — 
''  In  October,  1792,  the  Lord  wrought  a  most  kind  and  wonder- 
ful deliverance  for  me." 

"  In  December,  1793,  the  Lord  wrought  a  very  kind  and  sig- 
nal deliverance  for  me,  by  which  I  was  freed  out  of  as  great  a 
strait  as  ever  I  was  in. 


REV.    JAMES    MACUREGOR,    D.D.  273 

We  are  not  certain  what  these  were ;  but  the  following  was 
related  by  himself  as  a  deliverance  from  the  greatest  difficulty 
he  had  ever  been  in,  and  it  was  probably  one  of  them,  and  from 
the  season  of  the  year  most  likely  the  last  of  them.  One  Sab- 
bath morning,  in  the  month  of  December,  he  was  proceeding  to 
the  West  River  to  preach.  In  crossing  MacCulloch's  Brouk, — 
HO  called,  the  bridge  being  constructed  like  the  one  over  Sal- 
mon lliver,  above  described,  the  horse  put  his  foot  between 
the  logs,  and  making  a  sudden  jerk  to  extricate  himself,  threw 
himself  and  his  rider  over  the  bridge  into  the  brook.  They  fell 
amid  water  and  mire,  the  horse  on  his  side,  and  with  one  of  the 
Doctor's  feet  under  him.  The  horse  was  in  such  a  position, 
that,  though  he  struggled  a  good  deal,  he  could  not  rise;  and 
the  Doctor  was  utterly  unable  to  extricate  his  leg  froin  beneath 
the  animal.  He  strove  in  vain  for  some  time  to  relieve  himself, 
until  he  began  to  despair.  He  thought,  that  unless  some  person 
should  happen  to  pass  that  way,  of  which  there  was  little  likeli- 
hood, he  must  lie  in  that  position  till  he  died.  In  this  emergency 
he  resorted  to  his  never-failing  resource,  prayer.  He  accordingly 
offered  up  a  short  supplication  to  his  heavenly  Father  for  de- 
liverance. When  he  had  concluded,  turning  his  thoughts  again 
to  consider  the  means  of  escape,  he  thought  that  he  would  make 
one  more  eflfort  to  extricate  himself.  He  accordingly  drew  up 
the  leg  that  was  at  liberty,  and  placed  the  foot  against  the 
horse's  body,  so  as  to  be  able  to  press  against  him  with  all  his 
force.  When  the  horse  next  struggled,  he  accordingly  pushed 
against  him  with  the  one  foot,  and  endeavoured  at  the  same  time 
to  drag  the  other  out,  and  after  a  little  effort  succeeded.  When 
he  was  free,  himself,  he  succeeded  in  getting  up  the  horse;  and 
mounting  him,  he  proceeded  to  the  West  River,  a  distance  of 
about  eight  miles,  and  by  the  time  he  arrived  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Robert  Stewart,  where  he  was  to  preach,  his  clothes  were 
frozen  on  him.  He  warmed  himself  at  the  fire,  and  without 
changing  his  clothes  preached  two  sermons. 

Such  exposure  was  fitted  to  destroy  any  constitution,  and  we 
need  not  wonder  that  his  strength  began   to  give  way.      iMuch 


274  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

of  the  hardship  he  endured  was  unavoidable,  but  we  fear  that 
at  this  time  he  had  not  learned  sufficiently  the  duty  of  using  all 
the  means  in  his  power  for  the  preservation  of  his  health.  In 
after  years  he  was  careful  in  attending  to  this  duty  himself,  and 
urging  it  upon  others,  as  the  following  incident  will  show.  On 
one  occasion  assisting  Mr.  Brown  at  a  sacrament,  the  latter, 
who  was  usually  punctual,  having  been  detained,  was  obliged 
to  hurry,  and  when  he  came  to  the  church  was  over-heated. 
The  church  was  so  crowded  that  when  he  entered  it,  he  felt  a 
perfect  steam  issuing  from  the  door.  He  went  up  to  the  pul- 
pit and  preached  with  energy,  so  that  between  the  exertion  he 
had  previously  made,  the  state  of  the  church,  and  his  energy 
in  preaching,  the  perspiration  was  actually  dropping  from  his 
clothes  before  he  was  done.  When  the  service  was  over,  the 
Doctor  said  to  him  in  his  own  impressive  way,  "  Mr.  Brown, 
you'  ve  been  serving  the  Devil  to-day."  "  "What  do  you  mean  ?" 
"  Why,  just  that  you  have  been  doing  Satan's  work."  "  How 
so  ?"  "  Do  you  not  know  that  it  is  the  wish  of  Satan  to  cut 
short  the  lives  of  God's  ministers,  and  that  is  just  what  you 
have  been  doing."  But,  in  the  early  years  of  his  ministry,  be- 
ing young  and  vigorous,  he  seems  not  always  to  have  exercised 
the  precautions  which  he  might  have  done.  In  his  old  age  he 
used  to  blame  the  hardships  and  exposure  of  these  years,  most 
of  which  were  unavoidable,  as  the  cause  of  the  premature  break- 
ing down  of  his  frame. 

At  all  events,  to  his  other  difficulties  was  now  added  failing 
health.  For  some  time,  particularly  during  this  summer  (1793), 
the  state  of  his  health  was  such  as  to  alarm  both  himself  and 
his  friends.  Continued  spitting  of  blood,  with  weakness  and 
other  symptoms,  produced  an  impression  that  he  was  going 
into  a  decline.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Gilfillan,  writing  under  date 
22nd  April,  1705,  says:  "Your  father  and  I  received  your 
letters,  dated  at  Pictou,  December  8th  and  9th,  1794,  about  the 
beginning  of  iMavch  last,  and  we  were  very  glad  to  hear  from  you. 
Your  father  was  wearying  very  much  to  hear  from  you,  and  was 
very  anxious  about  your  health,  as  your  letters  of  1793  seemed 


REV.    JAMES    MACQHEGOR,    D.D.  275 

to  insinuate  that  you  were  not  in  a  good  way  on  account  of  a  con- 
sumption. But  we  were  all  hnppily  disappointed  in  our  fears, 
when  you  informed  us  that  your  liealtli  was  re-established,  and 
that  you  had  been  enabled  to  go  throuuh  so  much  of  your 
Master's  work  in  visiting  St.  Jolin's  Island,"  &c.  And  the 
Rev.  A.  Pringle,  writing  about  the  same  time,  says,  "  It  grieved 
me  to  the  heart  to  hear  that  your  health  was  bnt  in  an  indiffer- 
ent state." 

We  have  no  record  of  his  feelings  by  himself,  but  persons 
still  living  recollect,  that  he  was  often  in  considerable  sadness, 
especially  in  view  of  the  prospects  of  the  congregation.  lie 
liad  already  seen  the  fruit  of  his  labours  in  a  population  trained 
in  industry  and  morality,  and  a  congregation  gathered  requiring 
the  services  of  two  ministers.  He  had  planted  the  gospel  in 
other  places  around,  and  saw  them  earnestly  stretcliing  out 
their  hands,  with  the  importunate  cry,  "Come  over  and  help 
us."  Yet  his  most  earnest  petitions  for  brethren  to  come  to  his 
assistance,  repeated  during  seven  weary  years,  had  proved  fruit- 
less, and  he  saw  little  hope  of  any  better  success  for  future  ap- 
plications. In  view  then  of  his  removal,  he  saw  nothing  before 
his  flock,  but  to  be  scattered  as  sheep  wanting  a  shepherd,  and 
the  work  on  which  he  had  spent  so  much  toil,  and  which  now 
promised  so  well,  interrupted,  if  not  entirely  arrested,  and  Zion 
again  becoming  a  desolation.  Doubtless  he  did  not  lose  his 
faith  in  the  wisdom  of  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church,  and  his 
ability  to  supply  them  ;  but  the  failure  of  all  past  attempts  was 
sufficiently  trying  to  his  faith,  and  discouraging  to  his  hope, 
and  we  need  not  wonder  that  he  Avas  dispirited.  But  though 
"  cast-  down  he  was  not  destroyed,"  and  still  he  toiled  on, 
though  sometimes  ready  to  give  up,  both  from  weakness  of  body 
and  fainting  of  spirit.  His  good  friend  Donald  was  ever  ready 
to  encourage  him.  One  d;iy  the  Doctor  said  to  him  that  he 
believed  he  would  have  to  give  up.  "No,  no,"  said  Donald, 
"hold  on  while  you  can,  and  give  up  when  you  must." 

The  sympathies  of  the  people  were  drawn  out  strongly  to- 
ward him.     Indeed   it  was  only   then,  that   he   saw   the   hold 


276  MEMOIIl    OF    THE 

which  his  work  had  taken  upon  the  minds  of  the  community, 
and  the  place  which  personally  he  had  gained  in  the  hearts  of 
the  whole  population.  Then  only  they  became  conscious  of 
the  depth  of  their  feelings  toward  him.  This  was  evinced  in 
a  very  lively  manner  on  one  occasion  at  the  Loch  Broom  church. 
During  the  time  of  preaching  a  faintness  came  over  him.  He 
laid  down  the  Bible  on  a  table  before  him,  and  requested  the 
people  to  sing  a  part  of  the  sixty-second  Psalm, 

"  Jly  soul  with  expectation 

Depends  on  God  indeed,  &c." 

and  went  out  into  the  open  air.  The  congregation  was  deeply 
agitated,  as  my  informant  said,  many,  whom  no  one  would  have 
thought,  shedding  tears.  He  went  to  the  brook  near  by,  and 
took  a  drink  of  water,  and  in  a  little  feeling  better^^^he  returned 
and  resumed  his  discourse  as  usual. 

He  of  course  used  all  means  for  his  recovery,  and  among 
them  all  the  compounds  that  the  skill  of  female  herbists  deemed 
suitable;  and  through  the  kindness  of  Providence,  by  the  next 
season  his  health  was  re-established,  and  continued  good  till  near 
the  close  of  his  life. 

Advancing  to  the  next  year  we  find  the  following  among  his 
Memorabilia  : 

"In  June  1794,  at  the  time  of  the  Sacrament,  the  Lord 
granted  me  a  happy  confluence  of  favours. 

"  1.  He  removed  a  trial  which  had  been  productive  of  much 
grief  and  sin,  and  from  which  I  got  the  deliverance  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  paragraph.* 

*'  2.  Being  apprehensive  of  the  want  of  wine  for  the  Sacra- 
ment, there  being  none  nearer  than  Halifax,  I  met  Robert 
Marshall  arrived  with  it,  just  as  I  was  ready  to  begin  the  pub- 
lic work  of  the  fast  day. 

''3.  I  received  letters  giving  an  account  of  the  Synod's  ap- 
pointing three  ministers  to  Nova  Scotia. 

*  We  presume  that  this  refers  to  the  mntter  of  Robert  Marshall  and  Donald 
MacKay. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D,D.  277 

^'4.  There  came  a  greater  number  of  strangers  to  the  Sacra- 
ment, than  at  any  time  hitherto. 

"  5.  There  was  no  observable  disturbance  of  public  worship  by 
sickness,  fainting,  or  any  thing,  as  happened  for  several  years 
before. 

"6.  The  whole  work  was  conducted  as  agreeably  and  com- 
fortably as  ever.  Much  outward  and  I  trust  inward  (comfort) 
was  graciously  granted." 

This  summer  as  usual  his  attention  was  occupied  with  mis- 
sionary labour  as  will  be  seen  by  his  narrative. 

"  1794.  This  year  petitions  for  sermon  were  presented  be- 
fore the  session  from  St.  John's  Island,  Cape  Breton,  Amherst, 
and  Londonderry.  Mr.  Smith,  minister  of  Londonderry,  was 
unable  to  labour.  Ilis  congregation  took  little  interest  in  the 
controversy  about  the  burgess  oath,  otherwise  they  would  not 
have  applied  to  me  for  preaching.  The  session  was  at  a  loss 
how  to  do  with  so  many  petitions,  and  I  was  grieved  for  want 
of  help  from  the  Synod.  Thinking  Cape  Breton  and  St.  John's 
Island  the  most  needful,  they  appointed  me  two  Sabbaths  to 
Cape  Breton,  and  four  to  St.  John's  or  Prince  Edward  Island. 
I  could  get  no  opportunity  of  a  passage  to  Cape  Breton,  I  there- 
fore went  to  Prince  Edward  Island.  I  found  St.  Peter's  and 
Cove  Head  much  in  the  same  state  in  which  I  had  left  them. 
I  was  chiefly  anxious  about  the  people  of  Princetown,  as  I  had 
enlisted  them  without  much  opportunity  of  knowing  the  Re- 
deemer's standard,  and  was  afraid  that  many  had  deserted. 
What  accounts  I  had  heard  were  favourable,  but  I  did  not 
know  if  they  were  true. 

''  When  I  had  reached  within  about  sixteen  miles  of  Prince- 
town  I  met  a  man  who,  after  salutations,  told  me  that  he  was 
in  such  distress  about  his  sins  that  he  could  not  have  patience 
till  I  reached  the  settlement,  but  had  come  oflF  to  me  as  soon  as 
he  heard  that  I  had  come  to  the  island,  in  the  hope  that  I 
might  be  the  means  of  giving  him  some  relief.  I  asked  if  he 
had  been  long  distressed.  He  said  he  had  been  uneasy  for 
above  a  year,  but  that  the  last  two  months  he  was  in  great  anx- 
24 


278  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

iety,  and  that  he  was  every  day  getting  worse  and  worse,  and 
saw  no  outgate  for  himself.  lie  bewailed  much  the  wayward- 
ness of  his  heart  in  all  his  attempts  to  pray  and  repent.  He 
said,  that  when  most  desirous  to  pray,  he  could  not  fix  his 
lieart ;  and  so  his  most  earnest  attempts  to  repent  were  rendered 
utterly  unavailing.  I  was  truly  glad  to  hear  him  going  on 
with  a  most  pitiful  relation  of  his  case.  When  he  finished  I 
paused  a  little,  and  said,  '  It  seems  to  me  that  you  are  a  lost 
sinner ;  I  know  nothing  for  you  but  to  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.'  With  the  utmost  surprise  he  replied,  'What! 
would  you  have  me  to  believe  as  I  am?'  'Yes,'  said  I,  'just 
as  you  are,  for  you  can  never  prepare  yourself  for  it  more  than 
you  are  just  now.'  I  endeavoured  to  show  him  that  he  mistook 
the  character  of  the  Saviour  when  he  thought  he  durst  not  be- 
lieve till  he  had  prepared  himself  for  it  by  prayer  and  repent- 
ance ;  that  salvation  was  the  gift  of  God,  through  Christ,  to  lost 
dinners ;  and  if  he  was  a  lost  sinner,  he  was  as  welcome  to  it  as 
any  other,  for  there  was  no  respect  of  persons  with  God.  I  en- 
deavoured to  show  him  that  God  suited  his  salvation  to  the 
needs  of  lost  sinners,  and  to  their  bad  rather  than  their  good 
qualifications,  for  he  knew  that  a  sinner  could  have  none  of 
these  till  Himself  should  bestow  them  upon  him;  that  salva- 
tion, and  faith,  and  repentance,  and  good  designs,  are  all  the 
gifts  of  God,  and  freely  offered  to  him  in  the  gospel,  and  that 
he  ought  thankfully  and  without  delay  to  accept  of  them  ;  that 
if  he  would  do  so,  he  would  be  happy  from  that  moment,  and 
if  he  would  not,  all  his  attempts  to  pray  and  repent  would  be 
lost  labour.  In  a  word,  I  preached  the  gospel  to  him,  and  his 
anxiety  began  to  abate.* 

"  I  asked  if  my  labours  in  Princetown  had  seemed  to  do  good 
since  I  left  them.      He  told  me  there  was  a  considerable  change 

•••  The  late  Doctor  Keir  informcil  inc  tlint  this  man's  name  was  Edward 
llainsay — that  he  appeared  through  all  his  life  to  be  a  man  of  sincere  piety — 
that  he  was  for  many  years  an  elder,  and  as  such  a  support  to  the  Doctor  and 
useful  in  the  congregation — thiit  he  trained  an  excellent  family,  and  that  his 
death  was  a  peculiarly  happy  one. 


RKV.    JAiMKS    jMACOHKOOR,    D.D.  279 

for  the  better  amon<r  them.  I  went  on  the  rest  of  my  way  re- 
joicinji;  in  Iiope.  When  I  arrived  among  them,  I  found  that 
tlie  greater  part,  by  far,  had  persevered  and  grown  in  know- 
ledge beyond  my  expectation,  though  a  few  had  neglected  thoir 
baptismal  engagements.  I  visited  as  many  of  them  as  I  could, 
cxliorting  them  to  grow  in  grace.  They  were  anxious  to  know 
if  there  was  any  word  of  a  minister  for  them.  I  told  them 
there  was  none,  and  advised  them  to  commit  the  case  to  God  in 
prayer,  as  lie  was  the  best  provider  of  ministers.  I  sup])lied 
several  new  places  with  sermon,  as  Bedeque,  Tryon  Paver,  &c." 

He  has  here  set  down  his  visit  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  in 
1794,  as  his  second,  but  the  old  settlers  of  George  Town,  or 
Three  Rivers,  maintain  that  he  visited  that  district  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  so  that  this  must  have  been  his  third  visit.  The 
fact  is,  that  he  had  gone  so  many  times,  and  his  narrative  be- 
ing written  after  his  memory  had  failed,  he  sometimes  mistook 
the  year  of  his  visits,  and  sometimes  confounded  the  events  of 
two  different  journeys.  The  remainder  of  this  narrative  was 
written  after  he  had  had  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  and  though  some 
of  his  most  interesting  and  laborious  journeys  were  taken  after 
this  date,  yet  the  narrative  is  meagre,  and  without  that  minute- 
ness of  detail,  and  vividness  of  description,  which  renders  the 
former  portions  so  interesting.  Even  of  his  visits  at  this  time 
to  Prince  Edward  Island,  much  is  omitted.  AVe  shall  supply 
what  wo  are  able. 

As  just  mentioned,  the  old  settlers  of  George  Town  maintain, 
that  he  first  visited  that  settlement  in  1793.  He  was  piloted 
through  the  woods  from  Charlotte  Town,  there  being  no  path. 
The  settlers  were  then  few  in  number.  The  first  settlement 
had  been  made  by  Mr.  David  Iliggins,  in  the  year  1769.  He 
had  a  small  vessel  and  established  a  small  fishing  station  at  St. 
Andrews'  Point,  on  the  place  now  occupied  by  the  Hon.  Joseph 
Wightman.  In  July,  1775,  arrived  a  number  of  emigrants 
from  Dumfriesshire,  sent  out  by  the  proprietor  of  the  lot  on 
the  north  side  of  Montague  River.  In  the  following  spring  a 
number  of  them  moved  over  to  Pictou^  and  others  went  to  neigh- 


280  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

bouring  settlements.  Those  who  remained,  were,  durinp;  the 
next  winter,  reduced  to  the  utmost  extremity  for  want  of  pro- 
visions, having  been  obliged  to  cut  through  ice  on  the  shore, 
four  feet  thick,  to  dig  up  clams.  An  opportune  supply  of  pro- 
visions in  the  following  spring  in  Mr.  Iliggins'  vessel,  preserved 
thera  from  starvation,  and  the  new  crop  coming  to  their  assis- 
tance, they  from  that  period  began  to  surmount  their  difficul- 
ties. Still,  even  at  this  period,  the  number  of  inhabitants  was 
very  small.  He  preached  in  the  parlour  of  the  house,  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  Hon.  Joseph  Wightman,  then  occupied  by  Mr. 
David  Irving.  That  parlour,  which  is  by  no  means  large,  con- 
tained all  the  adult  population  of  Three  Rivers.  This  was  the 
first  sermon  ever  preached  in  the  district.  All  the  Dumfries 
settlers  were  Presbyterians,  and  listened  with  eagerness  to  the 
word  of  life,  some  of  them  not  having  heard  a  sermon  since 
they  left  their  native  land,  eighteen  years  before. 

He  remained  among  them  several  days,  engaged  as  usual. 
He  preached  on  a  week-day  before  he  left,  and  baptized  a  num- 
ber of  children.  One  child  he  refused  to  baptize  because  the 
father  would  not  make  affidavit  that  he  had  been  married  to 
the  child's  mother.  But  the  most  interesting  circumstance  of 
his  visit  was  that  on  it  he  was  the  means  of  bringing  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  a  poor  slave  of  the  name  of  Sickles, 
owned  by  Mr.  William  Creed,  a  gentleman  who  had  emigrated 
from  Boston.  When  on  a  visit  on  the  following  year,  he  bap- 
tized him,  and  through  his  influence  with  his  master  succeeded 
in  obtaining  his  liberty.  Sickles  always  retained  a  warm  feel- 
ing of  veneration  for  the  Doctor,  and  always  spoke  of  him  as 
his  spiritual  father. 

We  may  mention  here  that  on  the  Doctor's  next  visit  in  the 
year  1800,  when  he  was  about  leaving  for  Pictou,  in  IMr.  David 
Irving's  boat,  Mrs.  Creed  sent  him  a  present  of  a  lamb,  by  the 
hand  of  Sickles,  who  though  now  free  was  still  in  the  employ- 
ment of  his  former  master  ;  and  the  Doctor,  it  was  supposed, 
thinking  the  lamb  to  be  Sickles'  own  gift,  but  we  would  rather 
believe,  from  his  own  interest  in  the  individual,  sent  him  by 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  281 

return  of  the  boat  from  Pictou,  a  copy  of  "  Boston's  Fourfold 
State."  From  this  volume  and  the  Bible,  Sickles  matured  his 
views  of  Christian  doctrine  and  duty.  He  lived  a  consistent 
life  to  a  very  great  age,  and  died  in  full  hope  of  a  glorious  re- 
surrection. That  volume  is  stiil  preserved  in  the  pious  negro's 
family. 

We  shall  conclude  this  chapter  by  recording  an  incident 
which  must  have  occurred  on  one  of  these  journeys.  There  is 
some  dispute  about  the  place  where  it  occurred,  and  the  in- 
dividual who  was  the  subject  of  it.  We  have  formed  our  own 
conclusion  on  these  points.  But  we  content  ourselves  with 
giving  the  incident  as  we  have  received  it,  merely  remarking 
that  as  we  have  heard  it  from  different  persons,  as  told  by  the  Doc- 
tor himself,  and  with  the  same  details,  there  cannot  be  the  least 
doubt  of  its  truth. 

In  travelling  from  one  settlement  to  another  in  company  with 
a  guide,  they  unexpectedly  discovered  that  they  had  lost  their 
way.  As  commonly  happens  with  persons  travelling  in  the  woods, 
they  had  come  back  upon  their  own  track.  The  guide  was  sur- 
prised. He  said  he  knew  every  step  of  the  way,  and  he  could 
not  understand  how  he  had  missed  it,  but  proposed  to  try  it 
again.  They  did  so,  but  with  the  same  result.  The  man  said, 
"  That's  very  strange,  I  know  the  way  perfectly,  but  you  have 
been  talking  to  me,  and  I  must  have  m.issed  the  path  attending 
to  what  you  were  saying.  We  '11  try  it  again,  and  don't  say 
any  thing  to  me."  They  made  a  third  attempt,  but  with  little 
better  result,  and  this  time  night  came  on.  Coming  upon  the 
hut  of  a  new  settler,  they  resolved  to  remain  there  all  night. 
They  went  in,  and  the  guide  introduced  him  as  Mr.  MacGregor, 
a  minister  from  Pictou.  The  owner  of  the  house  received  him 
very  ungraciously,  and  showed  no  disposition  to  retain  him. 
"Oh,"  said  the  Doctor,  "  it  is  now  late,  and  you  would  not  turn 
us  out."  The  man  consented  to  entertain  them  for  the  night, 
but  with  no  great  cordiality.  In  the  morning  he  told  them 
that  they  were  going  to  have  "  a  raising,"  that  is,  to  erect  a 
frame;  and  as  they  were  scarce  of  hands,  he  thought,  that,  in 
24* 


282  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

return  for  the  entertainment  of  the  night,  they  ought  to  lend 
their  assistance.  Tlic  Doctor  consented,  judging  that  all  the  mm 
in  tlie  neighbourhood  would  be  present,  (if  not  the  icomcn  also 
as  was  sometimes  necessary  in  those  days,)  atid  that  he  might  thus 
have  an  opportunity  of  addressing  a  word  of  exhortation  to  those 
assembled.  It  turned  out  to  be  a  frolic,  and  that  rum  was  supplied 
in  abundance.  When  the  frame  was  raised,  tbe  liquor  beginning 
to  operate,  some  of  tlicm  began  to  quarrel,  and  were  likely  to  get 
into  a  fight.  Partly  to  draw  them  off  from  their  purpose,  he 
proposed  to  preach  to  them.  He,  accordingly  took  out  his 
pocket-bible,  and  laying  it  upon  a  stump,  be  gave  out  a  psalm, 
which  he  sang  himself  He  then  prayed  and  gave  out  a  text. 
A  few  of  the  more  moderate  attended  to  him  from  the  begin- 
ning, but  most  stood  aloof  His  singing  attracted  some  atten- 
tion, and  some  began  to  come  nearer  to  him.  Still,  even  when 
he  began  his  sermon  some  were  looking  on  with  indiffer- 
ence, and  his  host  of  the  preceding  night  among  the  most  dis- 
tant. As  he  went  on  with  his  discourse,  the  company  began  to 
draw  nearer,  until,  before  he  was  done,  he  had  them  all  close 
around  him,  with  upturned  faces,  eagerly  listening  to  the  word 
of  life.  His  host  the  night  before  was  the  last  to  come  in,  but 
ultimately  he  joined  the  rest. 

When  the  service  was  over,  he  came  up  to  the  Doctor  and 
said,  "  I  want  you  to  come  back  and  stay  with  me  to  night." 
The  Doctor  replied,  "  Why,  I  came  to  your  house  last  night, 
and  you  were  unwilling  to  keep  me."  "  I  know  I  was,"  said 
the  man,  "  but  I  was  wrong.  I  heard  part  of  your  sermon  to- 
day, and  I  should  have  heard  the  whole  of  it.  I  want  you  to 
come  and  stay  with  me  to  night,  and  tell  me  more  of  what  you 
were  telling  to  day."  The  man  also  argued  that  he  could  not 
reach  the  place  at  which  he  intended  to  preach  in  time  to  have 
service  that  day,  but  that  word  could  be  circulated  of  preach- 
ing on  the  following  day,  and  that  he  would  then  go  with  him 
to  conduct  him.  The  Doctor  felt  it  his  duty  to  comply  with 
the  request  thus  urgently  made,  and  accordingly  spent  most 
of  the  night  with  him  in  religious  conversation.     It  was  a  night 


REV.    JAMES   MACQREaOR,   D.D.  283 

of  gladness  in  that  cottage.  That  niglit  "  salvation  came  to 
that  house."  "  The  day  spring  from  on  high"  visited  that  hum- 
ble abode ;  "  the  wilderne.ss  and  the  solitary  place  were  glad," 
for  the  messenger  of  salvation,  and  there  was  "joy  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  angels  of  God,  over  a  sinner  repenting."  We  know 
not  how  long  the  man's  anxiety  continued,  but  we  know  that 
ultimately  he  was  "filled  with  joy  and  peace  in  believing."  He 
not  only  accompanied  the  Doctor  to  preaching  on  the  following 
day,  but  eagerly  waited  on  him  in  all  his  ministrations  during  the 
time  of  his  visit.  It  is  also  said  that  he  afterward  bore  the  char- 
acter of  a  pious  man  till  the  end  of  his  days,  and  that  he  was 
an  influential  member  of  the  church.  It  is  also  said  that  when- 
ever he  had  the  opportunity  he  was  very  attentive  to  Doctor 
MacGregor,  and  that  the  very  spot  on  which  that  frame  was 
raised  was  afterward  the  site  of  a  church. 

This  narrative  suggests  several  reflections.  It  afi'ords  an 
exemplification  of  the  remarkable  manner  in  which  Providence 
orders  events  for  gathering  his  chosen  into  his  fold.  How 
strange,  that  the  minister's  guide  losing  his  way  should  be  the 
means  by  which  God  would  bring  salvation  to  that  man!  But, 
wherever  there  is  an  elect  soul,  God  is  never  at  a  loss  for  means 
to  accomplish  his  purpose  of  mercy  with  regard  to  it.  Some 
of  the  circumstances  in  the  train  of  events  by  which  his  designs 
are  carried  out,  may  seem  trifling,  but  none  of  them  are  acci- 
dental. They  all  form  part  of  that  scheme  of  Providence, 
which  is  but  the  execution  of  that  "eternal  purpose  which  God 
had  purposed  in  himself  before  the  world  began."  It  also 
shows  the  propriety  of  ministers  embracing  every  opportunity 
afforded  in  Providence  for  preaching  the  gospel.  Few  would 
have  deemed  "  a  frolic"  on  the  occasion  of  raising  a  frame,  a 
suitable  occasion  for  proclaiming  Christ  crucified.  But  we  see 
what  happy  results  flowed  from  embracing  such  an  opportunity. 
How  appropriate  the  apostolic  injunction,  "  Preach  the  gospel ; 
be  instant  in  season,  and  out  of  season!"  It  also  shows  that  we 
should  not  despair  of  the  salvation  of  any,  even  of  those  whose 
characters  appear   most  unpromising.     Divine  grace  is  sover- 


284  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

eign  in  its  choice,  and  often  those  whom  we  least  expect  are 
made  the  monuments  of  the  Spirit's  power. 

The  short  account  which  he  gives  of  his  labours  during  the 
winter  of  1795,  will  conclude  our  history  of  those  years  when 
he  laboured  alone,  in  many  respects  the  most  important  of 
his  life. 

"  1795. — Things  went  on  agreeably  in  my  own  congregation 
at  home.  This  winter  I  met  with  a  providence,  simple  and 
kind,  which  was  a  great  encouragement  to  me.  On  Friday  it 
came  a  deep  snow,  and  on  Saturday  a  strong  thaw,  that  made 
the  snow  so  heavy  as  to  render  the  snow-shoes  useless.  I  fret- 
ted much  on  Saturday.  My  only  consolation  was,  that  many 
of  the  people  would  not  attend.  I  went  to  bed,  believing  that 
it  was  quite  impossible  for  me  to  preach  at  the  West  River  on 
the  following  day ;  but  during  the  night  it  froze  very  hard,  so 
that  the  snow  was  perfectly  capable  of  bearing  me  without  snow- 
shoes.  I  went  to  the  church  with  a  light  step,  and  a  light  heart, 
met  a  considerable  congregation,  and  preached  with  pleasure." 


REV.    JAWKS    MACUREGOR,    D.D.  285 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

FROM     THE    ARRIVAL     OF     MESSRS.    BROWN     AND     ROSS     TILL 
IIIS    MARRIAGE. — 1795-*1796. 

"  Two  are  better  than  one ;  tliey  have  a  good  reward  for  their  labour. — And  a. 
threefold  cord  is  not  easily  broken."  Ecol.  iv.  9,  12.  "  It  is  not  good  that 
the  man  should  be  alone."     Gen.  ii.  18. 

1795.  This  year  was  to  him  a  memorable  one,  as  the  year 
in  which,  after  years  of  lonely  toil,  and  numerous  disappoint- 
ments, it  was  his  privileii'e,  in  answer  to  many  prayers,  to  wel- 
come two  fellow-labourers  come  to  take  part  with  him  in  the 
ministry.  It  is  scarcely  possible  for  us  to  conceive  the  import- 
ance of  such  an  event  to  him,  or  the  joy  of  which  it  was  the 
occasion.  For  nine  years  he  had  been  enduring  most  arduous 
toil,  without  the  support,  the  sympathy,  or  the  counsel  of  a  brother 
in  the  ministry — and  even  in  a  great  measure  deprived  of  the 
society  of  men  of  intelligence  and  education.  He  felt  the  loss 
for  himself,  for  "as  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a  man's  countenance 
his  friend,"  but  much  more  so  on  account  of  numbers  perish- 
ing around  him,  with  none  to  care  for  their  souls.  Not  only 
was  his  own  congregation  in  need  of  assistance,  and  requiring 
more  labour  than  he  was  able  to  afford,  but  settlements  all 
around  were  clamouring  for  the  bread  of  life  ;  petition  after  pe- 
tition had  gone  home  in  every  form  of  moving  appeal,  and 
letter  after  letter  had  he  sent  to  the  Synod,  and  to  friends,  in 
every  variety  of  melting  entreaty  on  their  behalf,  only  to  re- 


286  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

ceive  barren  expresssions  of  sympathy.  Fervent  and  importu- 
nate suy.plieation  liad  he  ni:ide  to  ascend  before  the  Lord  of 
tlie  Harvest,  that  he  would  send  forth  hibourers  into  his  har- 
vest; and  thouLjh  his  prayers  were  not  unheard,  the  promise 
still  tarried,  and  lie  had  felt  that  hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart 
sick.  Appointments  had  been  once  and  again  made  by  the 
Synod,  and  his  expectations  were  raised  only  to  end  in  bitter  dis- 
appointment. And  now,  at  Icni^th,  his  prayers  were  to  be  ans- 
wered. "  The  time  to  favour  "  this  portion  of  the  church,  even 
the  set  time  had  come,  and  he  was  to  receive  the  assistance  of 
two  faithful  brethren.  We  need  not  wonder  that  his  joy  was 
extravagant.* 

The  men  whom  Got!  had  kindly  brought  to  his  assistance, 
were  men  for  whom  he  had  reason  to  bless  the  Author  of  all 
natural  and  spiritual  gifts.  Mr.  Ross  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  powers  of  mind,  a  clear  thinker,  a  forcible  writer, 
possessing  a  sound  practical  judgment,  that  rendered  hira 
valuable  in  the  transaction  of  the  public  business  of  the  church, 
and  a  pleasant  humour  which  rendered  him  the  delightful  com- 
panion of  private  life,  though  not  possessing  so  much  of  those 
qualities  of  voice  and  outward  manner,  commonly  called  popu- 
lar talents,  by  which  many  men  of  inferior  talents  would  ex- 
cite more  of  public  attention.  Mr.  Brown  again,  without  the 
reasoning  powers  of  Mr.  Ross,  was  more  distinguished  as  a 
man  of  amiable  character,  who  would,  in  every  position  in  which 
Providence  might  have  placed  him,  have  won  the  blessing  of 
the  peacemaker.     They  were  both  men  who  preached  the  gos- 

*  Being  on  a  visit  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  he  crossed  Richmond  Buy  in 
a  boat  in  company  with  Mr.  Pntriclc  and  we  believe  some  other  members  of 
Presbytery.  When  they  landed,  the  day  being  cold  Mr.  Patrick  began  stamp- 
ing on  the  ground  with  his  feet  to  keep  the  blood  in  circulation.  Some  one 
said,  "  Wh}',  Mr.  Patrick  j'ou  seera  inclined  to  dance."  "Well,"  said  the 
Doctor,  "  I  was  once  inclined  to  dance.  When  I  was  alone,  a  man  came  into 
my  room  before  I  was  up,  and  told  me  that  a  mini.<;ter  had  come  to  Truro.  I 
immediately  sprang  out  of  bed  and  danced  across  the  room."  His  joy,  how- 
ever, was  abated  when  he  learned  afterward,  that  he  was  a  -'rank  Armin- 
ian." 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  287 

pel  faithfully,  both  men  who  loved  the  prosperity  of  Zion,  and 
both  uien  whose  private  society  was  a  pleasure. 

The  manner  of  their  appointment  wa.s  also  interestinir.  They 
were  not  seized  upon  by  the  Synod  and  banished  to  America 
by  the  stern  fiat  of  ecclesiastical  authority,  they  were  not  men 
of  that  class  whom  the  churches  in  Scotland  have  sometimes 
sent  to  the  Western  Continent,  who  having  made  a  fair  trial  of 
their  gifts  and  being  found  unsuitable  for  Scotland  were  regarded 
as  therefore  perfectly  fitted  for  the  colonies.  They  came  in  the 
spirit  of  self-dedication  to  the  work,  and  it  was  to  him  peculi- 
arly gratifying,  that  he  was  the  direct  means  in  the  hands  of 
Providence  of  leading  them  to  this  country.  When  students 
of  Theology  of  two  years  standing,  attending  the  Hall  at 
Whitburn,  they  were  so  moved  by  Doctor  MacGregor's  appeals, 
particularly  his  letter  of  1792,  that  they  pledged  themselves  to 
one  another,  that  if  spared  to  complete  their  studies,  and  re- 
ceive license,  they  would  go  to  his  assistance.  To  bind  them- 
selves more  securely,  they  put  their  engagement  in  writing,  and 
signed  their  names  to  it.  The  paper  containing  this  engage- 
ment was  accidentally  left  in  one  of  the  books  of  the  Library, 
which  they  had  been  perusing.  The  Librarian  having  discov- 
ered it  there,  carried  it  to  the  Professor,  who  made  known  its 
contents  to  the  Synod,  who  resolved  to  make  them  ready  with- 
out delay,  and  at  their  session  in  1794  ordered  them  to  be  taken 
on  trials  for  license,  after  the  forthcoming  session  of  the  Hall, 
and  to  proceed  to  Nova  Scotia  on  the  following  spring.  As 
Mr.  Iloss  used  humorously  to  describe  it,  they  were  lectured 
for  one  season  on  heresy,  and  another  on  superstition,  and  then 
banished  to  America. 

They  sailed  for  New  York  in  the  spring  of  1795,  and  landed 
there  on  the  27th  May.  Thence  they  sailed  for  Halifax.  They 
staid  there  a  few  days,  and  preached  one  Sabbath.  And  thence 
proceeded  to  PIctou,  Mr.  Ross  by  land,  and  Mr.  Brown  by 
water.  But  we  must  allow  the  Doctor  himself  to  describe  their 
arrival  in  Pictou. 

"  In  June  I  heard  with  joy  and  wonder  of  the  appoint- 


288  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

nient,*  and  soon  of  the  arrival  of  Messrs.  Brown  and  Koss,  I 
gave  heartfelt  thanks  to  God  for  his  goodness  in  sending  them, 
and  prayed  that  he  might  make  them  a  blessing.  I  provided 
men  and  horses,  and  went  with  great  alacrity  to  meet  them. 
We  met  Mr.  Koss  at  Truro,  in  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cock, 
lie  informed  us  that  Mr.  Brown  and  his  wife  had  gone  to  Pic- 
tou  by  water.  Next  day  we  returned  to  Pictou,  and  very  shortly 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  arrived  there  also  in  good  health.  They 
all  stayed  for  a  little  time  in  Pictou  to  refresh  themselves. 
Meantime  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper  was  dispensed.  Messrs. 
Brown  and  Boss  assisted  in  preaching  and  serving  the  tables. 
The  younger  part  of  the  congregation  were  surprised  at  the  ex- 
act agreement  of  the  doctrines  and  prayers  of  the  old  and  the 
new  ministers.  They  had  heard  the  new  ministers  with  the 
utmost  attention,  and  they  could  not  observe  the  least  inconsis- 
tency. It  seemed  as  if  my  tongue  had  been  in  their  mouths. 
I  was  delighted  with  this  agreeable  evidence  of  their  attention 
in  hearing,  as  I  was  satisfied  of  its  justice.  At  the  conclusion 
of  this  Sacrament,  I  could  not  but  admire  the  goodness  of  God. 
I  had  been  alone  nine  long  years." 

One  or  two  incidents  connected  with  their  arrival  may  be 
here  given.  When  the  Doctor  met  Mr.  Ko.ss  at  Truro,  the 
latter  was  dressed  in  the  fashion,  having  his  hair  duly  powdered; 
but  the  former  being  accustomed  to  the  woods,  and  being  on  a 
journey,  was  roughly  clad,  and  his  coat  had  even  a  hole  at  the 
elbow.  Mr.  Ross  with  his  usual  love  of  fun,  putting  his  finger 
into  the  hole,  said,  "Are  you  a  beggarman?"  "Oh,"  was  the 
reply,  "  when  you  are  as  long  in  the  woods  as  I  have  been,  you 
will  have  holes  in  your  coat  too."  Mr.  Ross  remained  to  preach 
a  Sabbath  in  Truro,  so  that  Mr.  Brown  was  the  first  to  arrive 
in  Pictou.  The  following  interesting  incident  of  their  meet- 
ing was  given  us  by  Mr.  John  Douglass.  As  the  latter  with  one 
or  two  other  lads  were  preparing  the  seats  on  the  Intervale  at 
Middle  River  on  the  morning  of  the  Fast  day.  Doctor  Mac- 

*  This  is  .a  slight  error.  It  should  be  either  their  ordination  or  sailing. 
Ho  had  hoiird  of  tln-ir  nppni'iitnicnt  the  yonr  prnvions. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  289 

Gregor  came  along  from  the  East  River.  He  informed  them 
that  he  was  going  to  meet  a  new  minister.  They  asked  if  they 
might  accompany  him.  He  replied,  ''Oh,  yes."  They  pro- 
ceeded along  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  and  soon  met  Mr. 
Brown  in  company  with  Mr.  Mortimer.  After  eschjuiging 
salutations  the  Doctor  said,  "Now  you'll  preach,  Mr.  Brown." 
"Oh,  you'll  preach  yourself,"  said  Mr.  Brown.  "  Would  ^';i(t 
ask  me  to  j^^'ccich  that  has  not  heard  a  sermon  for  nine  years  ?" 
was  Mr.  MacGregor's  appeal.  Mr.  Brown  could  not  resist  this, 
and  immediately  replied,  "  Say  no  more,  I  '11  preach."  He 
accordingly  did  so  on  the  words  of  the  prophet,  "  This  is  the 
name  whereby  he  shall  be  called,  the  Lord  our  Righteousness." 
The  Doctor  listened  with  intense  delight,  and  when  Mr.  Brown 
had  finished,  and  the  Gaelic  service  was  about  to  begin,  he  rose 
and  said,  "  My  friends,  I  have  been  praying  for  years  for  a  min- 
ister to  come  to  us,  and  I  hope  that  you  have  been  praying  for 
one  too,  and  now  God  has  sent  us  one  and  you  have  heard  him, 
and  see  that  he  is  a  good  gospel  minister.  Let  us  return  thanks." 
He  then  began  to  pray,  and  as  my  informant  expressed  it,  "  he 
fell  a  crying,"  and  the  congregation  were  almost  equally  aflfected, 
but  he  went  on  to  pour  forth  his  soul  in  thanksgiving  to  the 
Giver  of  all  good  with  a  fervency  long  remembered. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  having  full  services  according 
to  the  usual  practice  at  that  time  both  in  English  and  Gaelic, 
Messrs.  Brown  and  Ross  conducting  the  former  and  the  Doctor 
the  latter.  On  the  Monday  he  shortened  the  service  in  Gaelic, 
and  went  over  to  where  the  English  service  was,  and  when  Mr. 
Ross  finished,  he  seized  him  in  his  arms  and  held  him  in  a  long 
embrace. 

The  next  step  was  to  form  themselves  into  a  Presbytery. 
This  was  done  on  the  7th  Julj',  the  place  of  meeting  being 
Robert  Marshall's  barn,  being  chosen  as  central  for  the  whole 
of  Pictou.  "  By  the  direction  of  Synod,  the  three  ministers 
formed  ourselves  into  a  Presbytery,  denominated  the  Associate 
Presbytery  of  Nova  Scotia.  On  this  occasion  I  preached  on 
Neh.  ii,  20,  '  The  God  of  heaven,  he  will  prosper  us ;  there- 
25 


290  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

fore  we  his  servants  will  arise  and  build.'  The  Session  of  Pic- 
tou  appointed  one  of  their  number  to  attend  the  Presbytery. 
Mr.  Ross  was  appointed  to  preach  at  diflferent  places  in  Prince 
Edward  Island,  and  Mr.  Brown  at  Londonderry  and  Onslow." 

As  a  Presbytery  was  now  constituted,  some  picture  of  its 
meetings  may  be  given.  Prom  the  character  of  the  men  who 
composed  it,  we  need  not  say  that  they  were  scenes  of  brotherly 
love  and  hallowed  enjoyment.  The  same  remark  will  apply 
both  when  the  Presbytery  consisted  of  these  three,  and  after- 
ward when  joined  by  Mr.  Dick  and  Doctor  MacCuUoch.  The 
strongest  feelings  of  personal  attachment  sprung  up  between 
all  the  members,  founded  on  personal  esteem,  and  each  was 
ready  to  co-operate  with  the  other  in  every  good  work.  They 
seldom  were  permitted  to  meet  one  another  from  distance  and 
the  difficulty  of  travelling,  and  hence  their  meetings  of  Pres- 
bytery, as  almost  the  only  occasions,  when  they  could  enjoy 
each  other's  society,  were  looked  forward  to  with  eager  anticipa- 
tion. Doctor  MacGregor's  family  recollect  that  he  would  count 
the  days  till  the  time  of  meeting,  and  as  it  came  near,  he  could 
sometimes  scarcely  sit  still  from  excitement.  The  occasions  of 
their  meetings  were  commonly  the  times  of  the  dispensation  of 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper  in  their  various  congregations. 
When  it  seemed  necessary  to  meet  on  other  occasions,  the  place 
of  meeting  was  usually  Mr.  Christie's  house,  Salmon  River,  as 
midway  between  the  brethren  in  Pictou  and  those  in  London- 
derry and  Shubenacadie. 

When  they  did  assemble,  their  meetings  were  scenes  of  rich 
enjoyment.  Business  we  fear  was  often  a  secondary  matter. 
We  have  been  told,  that  they  settled  what  business  they  had  to 
do  sitting  round  the  fire  smoking  their  pipes.  At  all  events 
for  five  years  they  kept  no  minutes.  But  their  meetings  were 
scenes  of  genuine  and  hearty  Christian  fellowship.  Their  suc- 
cess or  their  trials  in  the  work  of  their  common  Lord  were  told 
to  those,  from  whom  they  met  with  a  ready  sympathy.  The 
doings  of  God  with  the  nations  of  the  earth  (for  those  were 
times  in  yrhich  his  judgments  were  abroad)  and  the  state  of  the 


REV.    JAMES    MACailEGOR,    D.D.  291 

church  throughout  the  world,  excited  speculation  or  called  out 
their  expressions  of  awe  for  his  judgments,  and  gratitude  for  his 
mercies.  The  intelligence  from  the  old  world  was  then  received 
at  distant  intervals,  and  for  much  of  what  tliey  received  of  an 
ecclesiastical  nature,  they  were  indebted  to  their  correspondence 
with  private  friends.  But  the  more  rarely  it  came  the  richer 
treat  did  it  afford,  and  especially  when  the  great  movements  of 
the  present  age  for  missions  and  the  circulation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures commenced,  they  found  subjects  on  which  they  loved  to 
commune  with  peculiar  and  hallowed  delight.  At  other  times 
the  meaning  of  particular  passages  of  Scripture  or  the  pro- 
pliecies,  especially  in  their  bearing  upon  the  movements  of  their 
own  day  or  the  glorious  things  spoken  of  the  future  of  Zion, 
of  which  the  movements  of  our  day  seemed  to  be  the  foretaste 
— formed  the  subjects  of  discussion,  and  thus  hour  after  hour 
went  by,  and  they  felt  as  if  they  could  not  separate. 

But  we  must  not  suppose  that  all  was  grave  discussion.  On 
the  contrary  they,  on  such  occasions,  loved  to  unbend  them- 
selves, and  many  a  scene  of  harmless  merriment  was  mingled 
with  more  serious  discussion.  Mr.  Ross's  ready  humour  was 
always  provocative  of  mirth,  while  Doctor  MacCulIoch's  brill- 
iant "  crackling  thoughts,"  as  Doctor  Heugh  described  them, 
added  a  peculiar  zest  to  their  fellowship.  Then  came  the 
amusing  anecdotes,  the  harmless  banter,  the  keen  encounter  of 
wit,  causing  the  whole  to  be  interspersed  with  roars  of  laughter, 
which  sometimes  astonished  simple  folk,  who,  beholding  them 
only  amid  the  solemnities  of  sacred  things,  were  not  prepared 
to  see  them  giving  way  to  such  levity.  Doctor  MacGregor,  it 
will  be  seen  by  his  productions,  had  a  vein  of  humour,  and 
could  take  his  share  in  the  fun,  but  he  was  an  older  man  than 
the  rest,  and  generally  more  grave,  so  that  when  their  mirth 
grew  rather  uproarious  he  would  check  them ;  and  he  seemed 
always  glad  to  draw  the  conversation  into  other  channels,  par- 
ticularly to  what  was  doing  for  the  advancement  of  Christ's 
kingdom.  In  this  way  their  conversation  extended  far  into  the 
night,  or  toward  morning.     One  person  has  told   me  that  he 


292  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

has  seen  them  continue  till  the  day  began  to  break,  and  then 
•without  undressing  throw  themselves  on  a  bed  to  snatch  a  few 
moments'  repose  before  proceeding  on  their  respective  courses. 
We  do  not  say  that  a  shade  of  improper  feeling  7iever  clouded 
for  a  moment  the  brightness  of  their  fellowship.  But  we  do  say 
that  it  is  rarely  that  Ave  behold  so  beautiful,  so  uninterrupted, 
and  so  long  continued  illustration  of  the  saying  of  scripture, 
"  Behold,  how  good  and  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  brethren  to 
dwell  together  in  unity." 

After  the  formation  of  the  Presbytery,  the  next  step  was  the 
determination  of  their  respective  spheres  of  labour,  and  their 
settlement  in  them.     This  he  describes  as  follows: 

''  1796. — At  next  meeting  of  Presbytery  there  were  two  calls 
for  each  of  them.  Mr.  Boss  had  a  call  from  Pictou,  and  Prince- 
town  in  Prince  Edward  Island ;  Mr.  Brown,  from  Londonderry 
and  Amherst.  The  Presbytery  appointed  Mr.  Boss  to  Pictou, 
and  Mr.  Brown  to  Londonderry, — both  decisions  as  contrary 
to  my  thoughts  as  could  be,  for  I  had  appointed  Mr.  Boss  to 
Princetown,  and  Mr.  Brown  to  Amhei-st.  I  bowed  however  to  the 
will  of  Providence,  and  consoled  myself  with  the  thought  that 
disappointed  places  would  get  more  supply  of  sermon  than  hith- 
erto. Mr.  Brown  was  settled  at  Londonderry,  (where  he  is 
still  acceptable),*  but  Amherst  was  so  disappointed  that  a  num- 
ber of  them  sold  their  farms  and  went  off  to  other  parts  of  the 
Province  and  to  the  United  States.  Amherst  got  another  min- 
ister long  after  who  left  them,  and  they  are  now  vacant. 

"  Pictou  was  divided  into  three  congregations,  as  it  was  not 
doubted  that  a  third  minister  would  soon  be  needed.  Mr.  Boss 
had  the  West  Biver,  and  I  the  East.  The  Harbour  was  re- 
served for  a  third  minister ;  but,  meantime,  Mr.  Boss  and  I 
agreed  to  preach  alternately  to  them. 

"  As  soon  as  Mr.  Boss  and  I  were  fixed  in  our  respective  con- 
gregations in  Pictou,  Merigomish,  fifteen  miles  to  the  East,  and 
Stewiacke,  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles  to  the  South  West,  both 
of  which  I  had  occasionally  supplied  before,  petitioned  for  a 
*  Since  gone  to  his  rest. 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  293 

supply  of  our  services  statedly  to  the  extent  of  one  fourth  or 
one-fifth  of  our  time.  With  our  consent  these  petitions  were 
granted;  till  we  should  tire  of  going  to  them.  This  was  a 
great  addition  to  our  toil,  yet  we  endured  it  for  a  number  of 
years.  But  after  some  years'  time,  both  these  places  got  min- 
isters to  themselves.  Merigomish  got  Mr.  Patrick  from  Scot- 
land, and  Stewiacke  got  Mr.  Graham  from  Cornwallis  in  this 
Province  by  transportation." 

About  these  settlements,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  Doctor's 
views  were  prompted  by  a  view  of  the  necessities  of  the  differ- 
ent places,  and  that  the  arrangement  adopted  was  much  less 
fitted  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  church.  By  it  Prince  Edward 
Island  was  left  entirely  without  a  minister,  and  Amherst,  which 
was  the  first  place  to  seek  one,  was  again  disappointed.  In  the 
latter  place  the  Presbyterian  cause  never  recovered  from  the 
disappointment.  The  few  who  remained  in  connection  with  the 
Presbytery  received  supply  of  preaching  for  a  time,  and  after 
several  years  obtained  a  succession  of  ministers,  who,  however, 
failed  in  reparing  their  breaches.  The  first  was  Mr.  Mitchell, 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  who  discouraged,  left  them 
after  a  few  years'  labour.  He  was  followed  by  Mr,  Liddle  of 
the  secession,  who  after  three  years  left  them,  both  parties  be- 
ing dissatisfied,  and  much  ill-feeling  between  them.  At  his 
departure  the  heart  of  Presbyterianism  seemed  thoroughly 
broken.  Those  who  retained  the  name  lost  all  hope  of  ever 
seeing  the  thing  revived,  and  many  gave  up  the  name  altogether. 
Other  denominations  took  advantage  of  this  state  of  things,  to 
advance  their  own  interests;  and  to  crown  their  disasters,  they 
received  as  their  minister  one  of  those  vagrants,  who  had  adop- 
ted the  ministerial  name  without  the  ministerial  character,  and 
who  left  Presbyterianism  there,  not  only  with  its  ranks  broken, 
but  with  an  unpleasant  savour. 

They  have  more  recently,  however  obtained,  the  services  of 

the    Rev.   Alexander  Clarke,  of  the   Reformed   Presbyterian 

Church,   whose    labours    extending  over  a  large  surrounding 

country,  have  been  blessed  to  the  founding  of  a  number  of 

25* 


294  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

churches,  and  who  has  now  three  fellow-labourers  within  the 
sphere  of  his  original  circuit. 

But  some  interesting  circumstances  may  bo  here  mentioned 
regarding  the  division  of  labour  between  the  two  Pictou  min- 
isters. The  people  there  had  been  very  willing  to  receive  the 
services  of  a  second  minister,  but  when  it  was  proposed  to  di- 
vide the  congregation  in  two,  the  one  part  to  receive  the  servi- 
ces of  Doctor  3IacGregor,  and  the  other  of  Mr.  Ross,  the  whole 
congregation  was  in  a  flame,  no  part  being  willing  to  give  up 
the  services  of  the  former.  Mr.  Ross  bore  the  discussions  that 
took  place  very  good  humoredly,  involving  as  they  did  the  as- 
sumption of  his  inferiority.  Mr.  Otterson,  of  Truro,  said  to 
him,  "  This  is  not  very  encouraging  to  you,  Mr.  Ross."  "Oh, 
yes,"  said  he,  "  it  is.  What  better  encouragement  could  I  wish, 
than  to  see  people  so  unwilling  to  give  up  the  man,  who  had 
laboured  among  them  for  nine  years  ?  When  T  have  laboured 
as  long  among  them,  I  hope  they  will  be  as  unwilling  to  part 
with  me." 

To  decide  the  question  as  to  which  side  of  the  congregation 
each  should  have  as  the  sphere  of  his  labours,  it  was  resolved  to 
appeal  to  the  lot.  Viewing  this  as  a  religious  ordinance,  they 
proceeded  in  the  matter  with  all  due  solemnity.  The  whole 
was  done  in  the  Presbytery  duly  constituted.  The  Moderator  of- 
fered prayer,  and  then  the  papers  containing  the  places  for  each 
were  drawn  by  Thomas  Fraser,  Elder  of  the  East  River.  The 
decision  was  that  Doctor  MacGregor  should  go  to  the  East  River. 
The  people  on  the  West  River,  however,  were  dissatisfied,  and  ac- 
cused Mr.  Fraser  of  having  seen  the  papers  that  contained  the 
names,  and  of  having  drawn  with  that  knowledge.  A  second 
trial  was  resolved  upon.  Two  young  boys  were  selected  to 
draw  the  lots,  and  the  same  process  was  gone  through  with  all 
due  solemnity.  But  this  time  the  lot  fell  to  the  West  River. 
Doctor  MacGregor,  however,  disapproved  altogether  of  the  sec- 
ond trial,  regarding  it  as  a  tempting  of  Providence,  and  when 
urged  to  carry  out  the  decision  of  the  lot  he  positively  refused, 
saying,  that  it  was  to  the  East  River  he  ought  to  go,  and  to  the 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  295 

East  River  lie  would  go.  When  the  West  River  pressed  their 
claims,  he  told  them  that  if  they  did  get  him  it  -would  not  be  a 
blessing.  This  cooled  a  number  of  them  to  him,  their  pride 
was  a  little  wounded,  and  they  became  more  willing  to  receive 
the  services  of  Mr.  Ross. 

An  arrangement  was  made,  that,  while  Doctor  MacGregor 
should  be  on  the  East  River  and  Mr.  Ross  on  the  West,  they 
should  exchange  preaching  a  certain  number  of  days. 

They  continued  to  labour  thus  for  a  period  of  about  five  years. 
Doctor  MacGregor  on  the  east  side  of  the  congregation,  em- 
bracing the  Upper  and  Lower  Settlements  of  the  East  River 
and  Merigomish,  and  Mr.  Ross  on  the  West,  embracing  the 
West  River  and  the  Harbour,  and  going  part  of  his  time  to  Ste- 
wiacke;  but  there  was  no  distinct  division  of  the  congregation, 
Mr.  Ross  being  inducted  as  minister  of  Pictou,  jointly  witb 
Doctor  MacGregor. 

Matters  did  not  go  on  altogether  smoothly  under  this  arrange- 
ment. It  was  not  altogether  satisfactory  to  the  ministers.  And 
the  people  on  the  west  side  were  still  dissatisfied,  and  toward 
the  close  of  the  year  1800  they  again  made  application  to  the 
Presbytery,  either  to  have  Doctor  MacGregor  as  minister  of  that 
portion  of  the  congregation,  or  to  have  him  labour  jointly  with 
Mr.  Ross  over  the  whole.  The  result  of  this  movement  was  a 
division  of  the  congregation  into  three,  the  East  River,  the 
West  River,  and  the  Harbour.  Doctor  MacGregor  continued 
on  the  East  River.  Mr.  Ross  demitted  his  charge,  and  received 
a  call  anew  to  the  West  River,  while  the  Harbour  remained 
vacant. 

A  party  on  the  West  River,  however,  still  continued  dissatis- 
fied with  Mr.  Ross,  and  for  a  time  went  over  to  the  East  River 
to  attend  Doctor  MacGregor's  preaching,  and  when  Doctor  Mac- 
Culloch  was  settled  in  town,  they  went  there  to  hear  him.  To 
the  present  generation,  it  will  be  somewhat  surprising  that  a 
number  of  the  most  intelligent  men  on  the  West  River,  and 
these  not  Highlanders,  who  might  have  been  supposed  to  have 
been  attracted  to  Doctor  MacGregor  by  language  and  country, 


296  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

then  spoke  in  the  most  disparaging  terms  of  Mr.  Ross's  preach- 
ing. But  the  truth  seems  to  have  been  that  they  were  so 
blinded  by  their  attachment  to  Doctor  MacGregor,  that  when 
another  was  brought  into  competition  with  him  they  could  see 
no  good  in  him  whatever.  We  may  mention  that  they  all  at 
length  fell  in  with  Mr.  Ross,  and  son)e  of  them  became  his 
most  attached  friends.  One  of  them  was  in  the  habit  of  say- 
ing, "  I  ance  joined  a  faction,  but  I  wadna  do  it  again,  if  I 
should  live  a  thousand  years." 

After  his  settlement,  Mr.  Ross  went  to  Stewiacke,  for  thir- 
teen Sabbaths  in  the  year.  He  ordained  Elders  there,  and  for 
two  or  three  seasons  dispensed  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper, 
with  the  assistance  of  Doctor  MacGregor  and  Mr.  Brown.  A 
party  here,  however,  adhered  to  the  Presbytery  of  Truro,  and 
having  obtained  the  services  of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Graham,  Mr. 
Ross  said  he  had  not  freedom  to  go  any  longer,  as  he  considered 
that  his  doing  so  would  only  be  perpetuating  division,  and 
urged  his  friends  to  unite  with  Mr.  Graham.  Some  of  them 
held  aloof  for  a  time,  but  through  the  conciliatory  manner  of 
the  latter  they  were  ultimately  led  to  connect  themselves  with 
his  congregation. 

We  must  now  turn  to  a  settlement  of  another  character. 
''  Sometime  this  year  Mr.  Ross  came  to  my  lodging,  riding  on 
a  large  majestic  horse,  which  he  said  was  his  own.  This  made 
me  think  seriously  about  getting  a  horse  too.  Time,  and  the 
increase  of  settlers,  had  made  a  considerable  change  for  the  bet- 
ter on  the  roads.  I  saw  also  some  of  my  hearers  riding  to  church, 
and,  though  not  with  ease,  yet  I  thought  with  more  ease  than 
walking ;  so  I  bought  a  horse.  I  needed  him  as  much  as  ever, 
for  a  new  meeting  house  was  now  built,  ten  miles  farther  up 
than  the  first.  I  had  no  ease  by  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Ross,  for  I 
had  to  preach  Sabbath  about  at  the  upper  meeting  house,  as 
distant  as  the  West  River,  besides  going  to  Merigomish. 

"  Some  time  after  I  saw  Mr.  Ross  again,  and  he  informed  me 
of  a  lot  of  land  that  he  was  buying,  with  a  view  to  marriage 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  297 

and  a  settled  life,  I  thought  that  I  needed  to  do  both  these 
things  too,  aud  accordins^Iy  did  them  within  the  year." 

A  writer  in  a  periodical  lately  remarks,  "  Let  a  biographer, 
in  writing  the  life  of  a  grave  divine,  whose  voice  has  been  often 
heard  in  Synod  or  Assembly,  rdute  a  few  xcell  authenticated 
anecdotes  of  his  courtship  ;  of  his  quarrels  with  his  heritors  or 
elders,  of  his  feats  of  strength,  agility,  and  physical  courage, 
and  he  would  certainly  be  severely  censured.  But  why  should 
he  ?  Might  he  not  by  so  doing  furnish  means  of  forming  a 
more  accurate  estimate  of  his  hero's  character,  and  afford  more 
curious  matter  of  speculation  to  the  inquisitive  observer  of 
human  life  and  manners,  than  can  be  found  either  in  letters  or 
diaries  ?"  In  the  force  of  the  above  remarks  we  entirely  con- 
cur, and  as  the  circumstances  of  the  Doctor's  marriage  were  per- 
fectly unique,  and  as  they  illustrate  his  situation  and  the  state 
of  the  country  at  the  time,  we  shall  furnish  some  details  on  the 
subject.  And  when  we  consider  at  what  length  that  volume, 
which  contains  the  highest  models  of  biography,  relates  the 
nuptials  of  Isaac,  we  are  not  without  inspired  authority  for  so 
doing. 

When  he  left  Scotland  he  went  forth  alone.  This  we  be- 
lieve was  a  necessity,  for  we  have  been  informed  that  he  sought 
at  that  time  a  young  lady,  to  whom  he  afterwards  applied ;  but 
her  friends  objected  against  the  union,  because  she  was  "owre 
young  to  marry  yet,"  and  for  other  good  and  sufficient  reasons, 
as  they  deemed  them.  After  his  arrival  he  felt  that  it  was  ''not 
good  for  man  to  be  alone."  His  unmarried  state  gave  occasion  to 
the  malicious  to  circulate  stories  about  him.  The  individual, 
already  mentioned  as  distinguished  through  life  for  his  enmity 
to  him  and  the  gospel,  went  so  far  as  to  attempt  to  bribe  a  ser- 
vant girl  in  the  house,  and  she  was  a  Catholic  too,  with  a  pre- 
sent of  a  gown,  then  an  article  of  value,  to  declare  before  the 
Session,  that  he  had  sought  criminal  intercourse  with  her.  And 
although  the  girl  had  conscience  enough  to  expose  the  plot,  yet 
such  things  were  fitted  to  injure  his  reputation.  Besides,  as 
has  been  already  remarked,  he  was  far  from  having  such  a  state 


298  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

of  things  in  his  lodgings  as  was  desirable  either  for  his  comfort 
or  usefulness. 

Efforts  were  therefore  made  in  various  quarters  to  obtain  a 
helpmeet,  and  it  is  both  amusing  and  instructive  to  look  back 
on  the  difficulties  which  he  had  in  accomplishing  that  end. 
His  thoughts  naturally  reverted  to  the  object  of  bis  youthful 
affection,  but  to  his  application  to  her  fond  parent,  a  worthy 
antiburgher  minister  under  whom  he  had  spent  part  of  his 
youthful  days,  there  came  the  following  response  :  '<  Though 
I  am  persuaded  you  are  not  serious  in  what  you  wrote,  yet  as 
you  are  at  so  great  a  distance,  I  think  it  friendly  to  say  that 
what  you  propose  by  way  of  question,  were  you  in  earnest, 
would  never  be  consented  to  by  any  person  concerned.  The 
person  you  speak  of  has  not  either  qualifications  of  body  or 
mind  for  undergoing  the  hardships  of  such  a  long  voyage  and 
journey.  I  really  think  that  you  should  try  to  provide  your- 
self with  one  in  Nova  Scotia."  Again,  to  another,  likewise  the 
daughter  of  an  antiburgher  minister,  we  find  among  his  corres- 
pondence the  following  allusions.    His  good  friend,  Mr.  Buist, 

says  in  a  letter,  "As  to  Miss  B n,  if  you  can  get  her  to 

come  I  will  put  her  into  the  hands  of  a  captain,  who  will  send 
her  safe  to  Halif;ix,  and  if  such  a  thing  should  be  I  will  get 
her  passage  at  least  part  paid  if  I  can."  But  the  following  came 
as  a  damper  from  the  fair  one's  anxious  parent.  "  I  am  much 
obliged  to  you  for  the  afiection  and  esteem  you  express  of  Anny. 
I  doubt  not  but  it  is  mutual,  otherwise  she  might  have  been 
settled  ere  now.  But  I  really  think  that  Divine  Providence 
has  thwarted  your  mutual  intention  in  setting  you  so  far  dis- 
tant from  each  other.  Although  it  has  been  the  fashion  for 
years,  that  British  ladies  take  a  sail  to  the  East  Indies  to  be 
married,  and  even  to  seek  husbands,  yet  this  piece  of  modern 
female  fashion  Anny  does  not  choose  to  imitate,  as  judging  it 
not  quite  so  becoming  her  sex.  Dear  brother,  Providence, 
which  orders  every  man's  lot,  and  which  seems  to  have  forbid 
the  wislied  for  union,  knows  what  is  best  for  you  both,  and  its 
own  intention  toward  you  3  it  is  duty  therefore  to  submit  to  the 


KKV.  JAMES  macgrb;gor,  d.d.  299 

disposal  thereof.  You  have  certainly  the  best  wishes  of  all  of 
us.  While  I  have  writteu  as  above,  I  suppose  that  by  this 
time  you  have  united  to  some  agreeable  young  lady.  If  so, 
I  sincerely  wish  you  much  joy."* 

To  those  who  knew  the  Doctor  in  his  later  years,  when  far 
and  near  throughout  these  Lower  Pi'ovinces  he  was  regarded 
with  a  veneration  similar  to  what  we  may  suppose  the  apostle 
John  to  have  enjoyed  at  Ephesus  in  his  old  age  from  the  whole 
of  Asia  Minor,  and  when  abroad  his  heavenly  character,  and 
self-denying  labours  and  sacrifices,  had  won  him  the  esteem  of 
many  of  the  most  eminent  in  the  church,  it  will  be  interesting 
to  observe  the  difficulty  he  had  in  the  early  stage  of  his  career, 
in  obtaining  a  suitable  partner  to  share  with  him  his  labours  and 
troubles;  and  we  doubt  not  that  the  want  of  a  helpmeet  for 
him  greatly  increased  the  burden  of  his  cares.  The  want  of 
the  ministering  of  gentle  woman  deprived  him  of  many  out- 
ward comforts,  and  the  want  of  her  soothing  influence  made  his 
trials  press  with  heavier  weight  upon  his  spirit. 

For  five  or  six  years  after  the  above  correspondence  we  know 
of  no  efi"orts  that  were  made  to  supply  the  want,  but  the  matter 
occupied  the  attention  of  busy-bodies.  At  length,  encouraged 
as  it  would  appear  by  Mr.  Ross's  success,  he  resolved  on  an 
effort  on  this  side  the  Atlantic.  But  there  were  none  in  his 
congregation  possessing  the  qualifications  deemed  requisite  for 
the  station,  and  he  had  no  time  to  spare  from  his  onerous  du- 
ties to  look  abroad.  He  was  therefore  under  the  necessity  of 
being  guided  by  the  opinions  of  others.  From  several  quar- 
ters he  received  the  highest  recommendations  of  Miss  Ann 
MacKay,  daughter  of  Mr.  Roderick  MacKay.  But  having  no 
time  to  spare  for  those  interesting  attentions  by  which  the 
hearts  of  gentle  maidens  are  won,  and  scarcely  having  seen  her,"}" 

*  We  suppose  that  it  iiiiiy  not  be  made  a  secret  that  one  of  these  beeaine 
afterward  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Gilfillan,  and  mother  of  the  Rev.  Geo. 
Gilfillan. 

f  It  is  indeed  commonly  said  that  ho  never  saw  her  till  a  few  minutes  be- 
fore the  marriage  ceremony  took  place. 


300  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

or  forming  any  judgment  of  her  by  personal  acquaintance,  he 
wrote  to  her,  stating  his  circumstances,  and  putting  the  all  im- 
portant question.  The  forwarding  of  his  communication  was 
not  so  simple  a  matter  as  we  moderns  would  suppose.  There 
was  no  regular  mail  communication  between  Pictou  and  the 
capital,*  and  the  usual  mode  of  conveyance  was  by  special  mes- 
senger. We  have  heard,  too,  that  in  those  times,  when  every 
person  knew  every  other  person,  over  an  extent  of  two  or  three 
counties,  and  their  business  too,  it  was  not  uncommon  to  show 
their  friendly  interest  in  each  other's  welfare  by  freely  opening 
one  another's  letters.  Independent  of  this  the  business  itself  was 
one  requiring  a  messenger,  with  all  the  faithfulness  of  an 
Eliezer.  Such  an  one  was  found  in  the  late  Andrew  Marshall, 
who  performed  his  mission  with  all  the  zeal  for  his  minister's 
honour  and  comfort,  all  the  tact  and  all  the  faithfulness  of 
Abraham's  steward,  and  had  it  to  tell  of  to  his  dying  day,  and 
with  no  small  feeling  of  self-importance. 

We  may  here  remark  that  lier  father  was  one  of  three  broth- 
ers who  emigrated  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Inverness  to  Pic- 
tou, in  its  early  settlement,  two  of  them  in  the  ship  Hector, 
and  one  a  short  time  after.  The  eldest,  Alexander,  had  been  a 
soldier,  and  had  seen  hard  service  under  General  Wolfe;  having 
been  seven  weeks  in  the  expedition  against  Louisburg,  without 
changing  his  clothes,  and  having  been  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
on  the  plains  of  Abraham.  Of  one  member  of  his  family  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  speak  presently.  The  second,  Donald, 
was  the  Elder,  who  was  long  the  Doctor's  firmest  support.  The 
third,  Roderick,  father  of  the  bride,  was  a  man  in  some  respects 
like  them.  He  had  a  quick  ofi"-hand  manner,  and  was  distin- 
guished by  great  boldness  and  determination. 

His  wife  was  very  respectably  connected,  and  through  the 
interest  of  her  friends  he  had  obtained  a  situation  in  the  Dock- 
Yard,  at  Halifax,  whither  he  moved  from   Pictou.     She  was  a 

*  The  first  regular  miiil  began  to  be  carried  in  December,  1801.  The  first 
courier  was  the  late  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Mount  Thoiu.  At  first  bo  carried  the 
mail  in  his  pocket,  and  travelled  on  foot. 


REV.  JAMES   MACQREGOR,    D.D.  301 

woman  of  great  firmness  and  strength  of  mind,  of  which  the 
following  incident  may  be  cited  as  proof.  When  the  first  set- 
tlers arrived  in  Pictou  the  Indians  were  very  bold,  and  tlic 
Whites  were  afraid  of  them.  She,  however,  never  yielded  to 
tliem,  and  when  they  came  into  her  house  she  feared  not  even 
to  aoold  them  if  they  took  any  undue  liberties.  On  one  occa- 
sion some  of  them  coming  in,  asked  her,  "What  news?"  She 
R'piied,  "  Aha  !  great  news.  There  is  another  regiment  of  sol- 
diers arrived  in  Halifax,  and  you  must  now  behave  yourselves." 
They  went  away,  and  shortly  after  there  came  an  invitation  to 
all  the  Whites  to  attend  a  great  feast  provided  for  them  by  the 
red  brethren.  This  invitation  was  accepted,  and  on  going  to 
the  place  appointed  they  found  provided  every  variety  of  pro- 
visiun,  which  the  sea  or  the  forest  afforded,  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl, 
which  they  allowed  the  Whites  to  cook  in  their  own  way.  This 
was  intended  as  a  grand  peace-offering,  and  as  such  was  accepted, 
tiiuugh  historically  I  suppose  we  should  speak  of  it  as  the  first 
2»ic-nic  in  the  County  of  Pictou. 

Their  daughter  partook  of  the  active  habits  and  the  resolute 
character  of  her  parents,  all  being  sanctified  by  the  grace  of 
God.  She  had  received  the  best  education  which  the  country 
at  that  time  could  afford,  though  circumstances  rendered  it  ne- 
cessary that  her  industry  in  the  use  of  her  needle  should  be 
employed  iu  the  maintenance  of  the  family.  She  was  an  ac- 
complished seamstress  and  as  such  had  resided  in  some  of  the 
most  respectable  families  in  Halifax.  This  discipline  we  need 
not  say  was  all  well  calculated  to  fit  her  for  the  sphere  she  was 
afterward  to  occupy.  Andrew,  the  faithful  Eliezer,  having  dis- 
charged his  part,  the  lady  gave  her  consent  and  all  preliminaries 
were  arranged. 

At  the  appointed  time,  which  was  at  seed  time,  in  1796,  he 
set  out,  taking  with  him  as  companion  in  travel,  and  as  grooms- 
man, Mr.  Alex.  MacKay,  son  of  Alexander  before  mentioned, 
and  cousin  of  his  intended.  The  only  mode  of  travelling  at 
that  time  was  either  on  foot  or  on  horseback.  The  latter  was 
preferred,  and  the  only  two  horses  on  the  East  River  considered 
26 


302  '         MEMOIR    OF   THE 

fit  for  the  journey  were  put  in  requisition  for  the  important  occa- 
sion. Such  was  the  way  of  bringing  home  a  bride.*  And  there 
w:is  then  no  such  thing  as  spending  the  honeymoon  in  tours  of 
pleasure;  but  it  is  worthy  of  record,  as  illustrating  his  devoted- 
ness  to  the  great  work  of  his  life,  that  his  marriage  trip  was 
made  a  missionary  excursion.  He  and  his  faithful  companion, 
accordingly,  set  out  toward  the  close  of  the  week.  Tiiey  were 
met  by  Mr.  Brown,  at  West  River,  and  a  young  man,  who  was 
on  his  way  to  Truro,  accompanied  them.  The  road  was,  as  we 
have  formerly  described  it,  a  mere  path  cut  through  the  woods, 
and  except  in  a  few  spots  not  permitting  two  to  ride  abreast. 
The  young  man,  on  the  way,  began  throwing  stones  at  some 
partridges  which  crossed  their  path.  The  Doctor  remonstrated 
with  him.  The  young  man  argued  that  they  were  given  to  us 
for  our  use.  "Yes,  but  you  are  not  needing  them,"  was  the 
reply.  We  mention  this  as  it  affords  us  a  convenient  opportu- 
nity of  noticing  a  feature  of  his  character,  his  kindness  to  in- 
ferior animals.  He  would  not  kill  a  snake,  and  when  others 
would  be  for  doing  it,  he  would  remonstrate  with  them,  saying, 
"  Let  it  live,  and  enjoy  the  life  that  God  has  given  it." 

On  their  arrival  at  Truro  they  lodged  with  Mr.  Cock,  who, 
notwithstanding  former  conflicts,  entertained  them  most  liospita- 
bly.  There,  parting  with  Mr.  Brown,  they  proceeded  to  Black 
Rock,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shubenacadle,  and  the  horses  being 
committed  to  the  care  of  Mr.  MacKay  to  proceed  by  land,  he 
proceeded  in  a  boat,  about  ten  miles  up  the  river,  to  the  house 
of  Mr.  Thomas  Ellis,  Fort  Ellis,  at  the  junction  of  the  Shuben- 
acadle and  Stewiacke,  near  which  the  first  church  on  the  Shu- 
"benacadie  was  built.  It  was  Saturday  when  they  arrived  here, 
and  preaching  being  intimated  for  the  following  day,  before  day- 
light the  house  in  which  he  was  staying  was  filled  with  persons, 
who  had  taken  advantage  of  the  tide  to  come  up  the  river  in 
their  boats  or  canoes.     A  large  congregation  assembled,  and  he 

*  A  number  of  years  later  thu  author's  mother,  their  eldest  daughter,  then  a 
girl  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  j'enrs  of  iigo,  rode  from  the  Ea.<!t  River  to  Ilalifa.x, 
over  one  hundred  miles,  on  horseback  to  go  to  school  and  home  agiiin. 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  303 

preached  to  them  that  day,  and  on  IMondny  proceeded  to  ITali- 
fiix.  It  was  near  night  when  he  arrived,  the  marriage  service 
being  appointed  to  take  place  on  the  evening  of  the  following 
day  ;  but,  instead  of  proceeding  to  the  residence  of  his  intended, 
he  went  to  an  inn,  to  wait  there  till  he  should  have  his  outer 
man  in  a  state  fit  to  make  his  appearance  before  her.  lie  had 
sent  orders  for  a  complete  suit  of  apparel,  even  to  his  shoes, 
and  until  these  were  ready,  he  remained  at  the  inn.  In  the 
meantime  the  faithful  Aleck  is  despatched  to  convey  the  intel- 
ligence of  his  arrival.  On  his  entering  the  house  he  was  im- 
mediately asked  where  the  groom  was.  On  replying  that  he  had 
gone  to  the  inn,  the  young  lady  began  to  toss  her  head,  at  the 
seeming  want  of  attention,  saying,  "  I  suppose  he  thinks  he  has 
me."  Explanations  followed,  which  we  presume  were  satisfac- 
tory. The  necessary  equipments  were  not  ready  till  some  time 
the  next  day,  nor  did  he  make  his  appearance  till  toward  eve- 
ning, so  that  they  never  met  till  a  few  minutes  before  their  fates 
"were  united.  The  marriage  ceremony  was  performed  by  the 
Rev.  James  Munro,  afterward  of  Antigonish,  then  a  travelling 
missionary  ;  and,  we  suppose  from  his  having  been  originally 
of  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  a  license  was  given  for 
the  purpose.  The  company  was  small,  and  the  evening  passed 
pleasantly.  The  Doctor  was  in  the  highest  spirits,  and  gave 
vent  to  his  benevolence  in  the  expression,  that  he  wished  they  were 
all  as  happy  as  he  was  that  night. 

The  following  day  was  devoted  to  the  bride's  receiving  the 
visits  of  her  friends,  numbers  of  whom  came  to  pay  their  re- 
spects, and  bid  her  farewell.  In  the  meantime  the  groom  hav- 
ing purchased  presents  for  all  the  members  of  the  family,  and 
a  side-saddle  for  his  wife  to  ride  on,  they  on  Thursday  set  out 
on  their  journey  homeward.  A  number  of  her  friends  drove 
out  with  them  to  Sackville,  about  ten  miles  out,  where  the  road 
for  Pictou  diverges  from  the  road  to  Windsor,  this  being  all  the 
distance  to  which  it  was  possible  to  take  a  carriage.  They  had 
brought  a  supply  of  provisions  with  them,  and  their  cloth  being 
spread  upon  a  green  spot,  they  all  partook  of  a  refreshment  af- 


304  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

ter  the  fashion  of  a  modern  pic-nic.  Their  repast  heing  finished 
they  bade  their  friends  larcwell,  and  the  bride  was  mounted  on 
the  horse  whicli  had  been  ridden  by  the  faithful  Aleck,  who 
now  moved  along  on  foot ;  but,  lilce  Asahel,  "  light  of  fnut  as  a 
wild  roe,"*  he  was  not  only  able  to  keep  up  with  them,  but 
where  the  roads  were  bad  to  get  ahead  of  them.  Having  thus 
secured  what  he  had  so  long  desired,  he  is  represented  on  tlic 
journey  as  not  willing  to  let  her  a  moment  out  of  his  sight,  a 
solicitude,  we  feel  justified  in  saying,  not  arising  from  the  fear 
of  danger  by  the  way.  They  arrived  at  Gays'  River  that  niirlit, 
where  he  preached  and  baptized.  After  riding  down  along  the 
side  of  the  river  to  a  convenient  point  for  taking  boats,  the  two 
horses  were  entrusted  to  MacKay,  to  travel  by  land,  while  the 
newly  married  couple  proceeded  down  the  river  by  water,  he 
preaching  and  baptizing  at  convenient  points.  On  tlie  Sab- 
bath following  he  preached  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shubenacadie 
on  the  western  side,  where  the  village  of  3Iaitland  now  stands, 
to  a  large  congregation.  Here  they  met  the  faithful  Aleck,  with 
the  two  horses,  and  also  Mr.  Mortimer,  who  had  come  all  the 
way  from  Pictou  to  meet  him,  and  escort  him  home.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  week  they  again  took  their  journey,  and  in 
due  time  arrived  at  the  East  River,  and  to  him  mijiht  be  ap- 
plied language  similar  to  what  is  said 'of  Isaac:  He  "took 
Rebekah,  and  she  became  his  wife,  and  he  loved  her,  and  Isaac 
was  comforted  after  his  mother's  death."-}- 

On  his  arrival  home  be  occasionally  gave  vent  to  the  exu- 
berance of  his  joy  in  merriment,  which  to  the  old  staid  High- 
landers, with  whom  a  laugh  was  almost  a  mortal  sin,  began  to 
give  offence,  and  it  is  said  that  the  matter  led  even  to  the  re- 
monstrances of  the  Session.     But  something  more  serious   was 

*  Literally  so,  for  ho  once  chased,  and  caught  a  caribou  calf,  which  wns  af- 
terward sent  to  the  tower  of  London,  where  it  continued  for  several  j'ears,  be- 
ing the  first  specimen  of  the  species  ever  in  that  collection  of  aninmls. 

•f  The  particulars  of  the  maiTiage  excursion  I  derived  from  Alexander  I\Inc- 
Kay  himself,  who  was  in  February,  1857,  when  I  mot  with  him,  still  healthy 
and  in  the  possession  of  all  his  mental  faculties,  though  then  in  his  89th 
year. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  305 

before  him.  He  had  been  married  by  license,  without  procla- 
mation of  banns  required  by  Ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  law 
in  Scotland,  and  by  the  adherents  of  time  honoured  customs  he 
was  held  as  guilty  of  a  heinous  violation  of  church  rites.  Some 
of  these  were  eapier  to  have  the  matter  taken  up,  and  to  have 
him  censured  before  the  Presbytery.  The  offence  extended 
throughout  the  church,  some  of  the  Elders  of  Londonderry  be- 
ing the  most  zealous  on  the  subject.  Eidiculous  as  it  may  ;ip- 
pear,  tlie  affair  began  to  assume  a  serious  aspect,  and  on  his  w;iy 
to  the  nest  meeting  of  Presbytery,  which  was  to  be  held  at 
Londonderry  as  usual,  after  the  Sacrament,  he  exhibited  unmis- 
takable signs  of  anxiet}'.  Good  Mr.  Brown  acted  as  peace- 
maker, but  with  all  his  efforts  he  could  not  satisfy  some  of  the 
parties,  and  at  length  had  to  speak  to  Mr.  MacGregor  on  the 
subject.  The  latter  gravely  proposed  a  friendly  meeting  in  pri- 
vate on  the  subject  The  meeting  accordingly  took  place,  when 
the  Doctor  said  to  them,  "  I  hear  that  you  are  offended  at  what 
I  have  done."  They  began  to  profess  that  they  were  not  of- 
fended themselves,  but  that  the  matter  was  causing  scandal 
through  the  church.  "  Well,"  said  he,  bringing  his  face  to  the 
requisite  degree  of  gravity,  though  we  fear  that  there  lurked  a 
little  of  the  spirit  of  fun  beneath  it,  '*  my  friends,  I  am  very 
sorry  that  any  person  sJiould  have  taken  offence,  and  I  promise 
that  if  you  will  forgive  me  this  time  I loill  never  do  it  again.'' 
They  did  not  at  first  perceive  his  drift,  and  with  one  voice,  ex- 
claimed, that  his  acknowledgment  of  his  errors  was  perfectly 
satisfactory, — and  that  they  could  ask  no  more.  The  report 
immediately  went  abroad  that  he  had  made  very  humble  ac- 
knowledgments, and  his  conduct  affording  convincing  evidence 
of  the  sincerity  of  his  repentance,  all  parties  were  satisfied,  and 
the  dark  cloud  which  was  hanging  over  the  peace  of  the  church 
was  dissipated.  He  returned  home  in  high  spirits, — present- 
ing quite  a  contrast  to  his  state  of  mind  on  going,  and  to  one 
that  asked  him,  "Did  they  stop  your  mouth?"  (such  was  the 
common  talk  at  the  time,)  he  replied,  "  No,  God  has  opened  it 
and  man  will  not  shut  it." 
26* 


306  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

On  their  arrival  home  they  continued  to  live  as  he  had  pre- 
viously done  in  Donald  MacKay'a  house,  thus  literally  enjoy- 
ing "  love  in  a  garret."  In  the  original  petition  for  a  minister, 
it  was  promised  as  follows  :  ''  Besides,  we  have  agreed  to  build 
a  house  and  barn  for  the  minister,  and  that  he  shall  hiivn  a 
glebe  lot  of  land, — and  also  that  we  shall  clear  so  much  of  it 
from  time  to  time  for  his  encouragement."  This  promise  was 
not  overlooked,  for  among  his  papers  we  find  the  following  head- 
ing of  a  subscription  list : 

PiCTOU,  Ajrril  25th,  1796. 

"  We,  subscribers,  promise  to  pay  to  James  MacGregor,  or 
his  order,  for  building  his  house  and  barn,  our  respective  shares 
of  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  in  cash  or  produce, 
at  market  price,  as  shall  be  most  convenient  for  us  at  three 
terras,  viz.,  fifty  pounds  on  the  first  day  of  April,  1797,  fifty 
pounds  on  the  first  day  of  April,  1798,  and  fifty  pounds  on  the 
first  day  of  April,  1799,  which  sums  respectively  are  to  be  di- 
vided into  shares  among  us,  by  an  equal  assessment  on  our  Polls 
and  Estates,  whereby  we  are  discharged  of  our  promise  in  the 
original  petition  for  a  minister." 

This  engagement  was  fulfilled  as  all  pecuniary  engagements 
were  in  those  days,  payments  being  made  in  all  sorts  of  things, 
and  at  all  manner  of  times,  and  some  sums  being  never  paid  at 
all.  Yet  with  all  these  draw-backs,  we  think  that,  cons^idfring 
the  state  of  the  country  at  the  time,  the  effort  made  by  his  con- 
gregation affords  an  example  to  congregations  in  the  present 
day. 

With  this  assistance  he  built  a  house  on  his  father-in-law's 
farm,  the  first  frame  house  on  the  East  River.  But  the  latter 
having  moved  from  Halifax  with  the  family,  for  a  time  they  lived 
together.  MacKay  being  unwilling  to  sell.  Doctor  MacGregor 
was  under  the  necessity  of  building  again.  This  time  he  built 
of  brick,  the  first  erection  of  the  kind  we  suppose  in  the  whole 
eastern  part  of  the  Province.  He  engaged  a  man  who  had 
oome  out  from  the  old  country,  having  some  knowledge  of  brick 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  307 

making,  to  make  the  brick.  Some  of  them  were  very  jrond, 
but  part  were  not,  requiring  to  be  plastered  over,  to  preserve 
them  from  the  weather.  Here  he  lived  till  near  the  close  of 
his  life.  The  house  continued  to  stand  till  a  few  years  ago. 
It  was  situated  near  the  western  bank  of  the  Kiver,  just  where 
the  operations  of  the  General  Mining  Association  are  now  beii)g 
carried  on.  The  traveller  passing  through  this  now  busy  scene 
of  life,  and  crossing  the  bridge,  may  see  the  spot  a  few  rods 
down  the  river,  where  still  stand  some  willow  trees,  beneath 
whose  shade  he  often  walked  or  read,  while  the  scene  around 
exhibited  a  marked  contrast  with  its  present  appearance. 
Where  now  are  seen  long  ranges  of  miners'  houses — the  smoke 
of  factory  and  steam  engine,  and  is  heard  the  rattling  of  the 
railcar,  was  a  scene  of  retirement,  where  only  a  small  clearing 
broke  the  continuity  of  the  forest,  and  an  almost  Sabbath  still- 
ness rested  upon  the  face  of  nature. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  union  was  one  of  great  happiness, 
and  the  separation,  when  it  took  place  some  years  afterwards, 
he  considered  the  greatest  trial  of  his  life.  She  was  a  woman 
of  a  lively  spirit,  of  very  active  habits,  and  prudent  and  eco- 
nomical in  her  household  management.  "  The  heart  of  her 
husband  safely  trusted  in  her,"  and  she  took  such  efficient 
charge  of  his  domestic  affairs,  that,  as  one  of  my  informants 
expressed  it,  "  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  study."  It  should 
here  be  added,  that  her  father  spent  the  closing  years  of  his 
life  at  the  East  River,  and  that,  though  part  of  bis  life  was 
not  what  could  have  been  desired,  his  later  years  were,  in  the 
Doctor's  opinion,  those  of  a  sincere  penitent. 

We  may  remark  that  his  marriage  did  not  in  any  degree  di- 
minish his  labours  abroad.  "  He  that  marrieth  careth  for  the 
things  that  are  of  the  world  how  he  may  please  his  wife;"  and 
it  has  happened  with  ministers  of  religion  that  the  domestic 
cares  resulting  from  marriage  have  induced  a  relaxation  in  those 
efforts  for  the  good  of  the  church,  involving  absence  from 
home.  No  one  could  say  this  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 
Even  with  an  increasing  family  he  was  as  ready  as  ever  to  listen 


MEMOIR   OF  THE 


to  the  cry  of  the  destitute  for  the  word  of  life;  and  some  of  his 
most  distant  journeys  were  made  after  this  date.  And  it  is  due 
to  the  two  "faithful  women,"  who  were  successively  his  part- 
ners, to  say  that  not  only  did  neither  offer  any  hindrance  to  his 
missionary  labours,  but  that  both  felt  interested  in  the  work, 
and  afforded  him  every  encouragement  in  the  prosecution  of  it. 


REV.    JAMES    i"V[ACGilEGOtt,    D.D.  309 


CHAPTER    XV. 

FROM    HIS    MARRIAGE    TILL    THE  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  DICK. 

1796-1803. 

"The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers  are  few;  pray  ye  therefore 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest,  that  he  would  send  forth  labourers  into  bis  har- 
vest."    Matt.  ix.  37,  38. 

After  the  formation  of  the  Presbytery,  as  recorded  in  tlie 
last  chapter,  the  supply  of  vacancies  engaged  the  attention  of 
the  brethren.  In  consequence  of  the  manner  in  whicli  the 
newly  arrived  ministers  were  disposed  of,  these  did  not  derive 
much  advantage  from  their  arrival.  Pictou  obtained  two  min- 
isters, and  Mr.  Brown  only  filled  the  place  of  the  Rev.  David 
Smith,  who  had  died  a  few  months  before.  So  that  Amherst, 
Douglass,  and  the  various  places  in  Prince  Edward  Island  were 
left  vacant,  while  new  places  were  craving  supply.  The  Pres- 
bytery did  all  in  their  power  to  meet  their  necessities.  For 
several  years,  its  members  were  sent  generally  once  a  year  and 
sometimes  oftener,  on  missionary  excursions.  In  this  work 
Doctor  MacGregor  was  ever  foremost.  He  had  come  to  take 
great  delight  in  it,  and  scarce  a  sinjrle  summer  elapsed  without 
his  spending  some  weeks  in  visiting  destitute  localities;  and 
some  of  his  longest  journeys  and  most  interesting  excursions 
were  undertaken  after  this  period.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  how- 
ever, that  we  can  give  but  a  very  imperfect  account  of  them. 
His  own  narrative,  written  after  he  had  had  a  stroke  of  para- 


310  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

lysis,  and  imperfect  as  it  was,  would  have  gone  far  to  supply 
the  want,  but  unfortunately  the  larger  portion  has  been  lost. 
Of  the  rest  of  his  life,  only  a  few  fragments  have  been  pre- 
served, the  Presbytery  kept  no  records  for  the  first  five  years, 
and  though  we  have  carried  on  a  large  correspondence^  we  have 
been  able  but  very  imperfectly  to  supply  the  defect. 

Two  new  places  now  engaged  his  attention,  Cape  Breton  and 
Miramichi.  To  the  former  he  represents  himself  as  proceeding 
the  same  summer  as  his  marriage.  But  we  rather  think  that 
he  availed  himself  of  the  privilege  afforded  by  the  Jewish  law, 
of  not  going  out  to  battle  for  a  year  after  that  interesting  event, 
for  in  a  letter  of  the  Presbytery  dated  5th  February  1799,  it  is 
stated  that  the  visit  was  not  paid  till  the  August  previous. 

In  reference  to  the  Island  of  Cape  Breton,  wc  may  mention, 
that  though  now  included  under  the  government  of  Nova  Sco- 
tia, it  then  formed  a  distinct  colony.  Its  greatest  length  is 
about  a  hundred  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth  about  eighty, 
and  embraces  a  surface  of  about  two  millions  of  acres.  One  of 
its  most  remarkable  physical  features  is  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
commonly  called  the  Bras  d'Or  Lake,  which  occupies  so  much 
of  the  interior.  It  communicates  with  the  /Vtlantic  by  two 
narrow  channels,  and  spreading  irregularly,  is  broken  into 
almost  innumerable  bays  or  creeks  of  every  size  and  shape,  and 
approaches  so  nearly  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  that  a 
narrow  neck  of  land,  little  more  than  a  mile  in  width,  is  all 
that  separates  it  from  the  sea  on  the  other  side,  thus  nearly 
dividing  the  island  into  two. 

A  large  portion  of  the  soil  is  of  the  very  best  quality,  and  it 
abounds  in  coal,  and  other  valuable  minerals,  while  it  is  favour- 
ably situated  for  commerce  and  fisheries.  Yet  at  that  time  its 
capacities  were  underrated  and  its  resources  were  unknown. 
With  the  exception  of  the  French  Acadians  the  inhabitants 
were  few.  At  Sydney  there  resided  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
and  the  various  officers  of  government.  A  regiment  of  soldiers 
was  commonly  stationed  there,  and  a  few  emigrants  from  vari- 
ous quarters  had  settled  around.      In   other  portions  of  tho 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREaOR,   D.D.  311 

island  some  small  settlements  had  been  formed  principally  of 
disbanded  soldiers  and  Anieriean  loyalists,  who  were  chiefly 
engaged  in  the  fisheries. 

We  may  remark  here,  that  his  present  visit  was  undertaken 
principally  at  the  solicitation  of  a  pious  woman,  named  Janet 
Sutherland,  who  had  emigrated  with  her  husband  and  family 
from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  who  had  for  years  mourned 
the  loss  of  those  religious  privileges,  which  she  had  enjoyed  in 
her  native  land.  But  we  must  now  allow  him  to  tell  his  own 
story. 

"  This  summer  I  performed  my  long  intended  voyage  to 
Cape  Breton,  which  proved  very  troublesome.  I  had  waited  in 
vain,  for  years,  for  the  opportunity  of  a  passage  thither.  I, 
therefore,  hired  a  good  boat  with  three  hands,  and  having  laid 
in  plenty  of  provisions  and  water,  we  set  off.  We  had  a  plea- 
sant sail  till  we  reached  Cape  George,  where  we  met  the  wind 
right  ahead.  There  we  anchored  all  night  and  part  of  nest 
day,  and  then  set  off  for  the  Gut  of  Canso,  the  wind  being 
partly  ahead.  Next  day  we  sailed  pleasantly  through  the  Gut, 
having  a  good  view  of  the  houses  on  both  sides.  I  had  a  great 
desire  to  preach  to  them,  but  could  not  stay.  We  landed  at 
one  house  which  stood  close  to  the  shore,  where  I  saw  a  bad 
woman,  whom  I  had  often  exhorted  in  Pictou.  I  exhorted  her, 
prayed,  and  gave  her  a  tract.  I  could  not  but  admire  that 
Providence  which  sent  me  without  my  knowledge  to  visit  and 
exhort  that  woman,  about  whom  I  had  been  much  concerned  in 
Pictou.     She  was  very  thankful. 

^  "  That  night  we  reached  St.  Peter's,  where  Mr.  Kavanagh 
lodged  us  all  with  great  kindness  and  generosity.*  He  in- 
formed us  that  our  best  way  to  Sydney  (the  metropolis  of  Cape 
Breton)  was  to  haul  (about  a  mile)  overland  to  the  Bras  d'Or 
Lake,  and  sail  up  the  lake  till  we  came  to  the  bend  of  its  west- 
ern branch,  about  forty  miles  off,  and  then  walk  to  Sydney, 

*  Mr.  Kavanagh  was  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  the  first  member  of  that  per- 
suasion, who  ever  sat  in  the  Legislature  of  the  Province,  Catholic  emancipa- 
tion having  been  granted  in  Nova  Scotia  before  it  was  in  the  mother  country. 


312  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

which  is  little  more  than  twenty  miles  off.  'This,'  said  he,  'is 
far  shorter  than  sailing  east  along  the  coast  of  the  island,  and 
then  working  along  the  east  coast  till  you  come  to  the  river, 
and  then  up  the  river  to  the  town.'  This  was  agreeable  to  the 
information  received  before  we  left  Pictou.  We  agreed  to  tiike 
this  short  way,  and  he  readily  offered  us  his  own  oxen  to  haul 
our  boat  across  to  the  Bras  d'Or. 

"  Next  morning  Mr.  Kavanagh  directed  his  man  to  surrciund 
the  boat  with  a  strong  rope,  and  hooked  the  oxen  to  it.  lie 
directed  two  of  my  men,  one  on  each  side,  to  hold  it  on  the 
keel,  and  his  own  man  to  drive  the  oxen  and  fetch  them  back. 
Thus  in  a  very  short  time  we  were  fairly  launched  on  Lake 
Bras  d'Or  with  a  fine  fair  breeze. 

"  We  had  imagined  that  we  would  meet  with  a  plain  landing 
place  at  the  other  end  of  the  lake,  and  a  road  leading  from  it 
toward  Sydney.  We  took  no  thought  to  ask  direction  of  Jlr. 
Kavanagh.  When  we  came  so  near  the  head  of  the  lake  that 
it  was  very  narrow  and  shallow,  our  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  shores 
looking  fur  a  landing  place,  but  in  vain.  We  heeled  her  on  her 
side  as  far  as  we  could,  but  had  to  stop  before  we  could  see  any 
landing  place  or  road.  We  hauled  the  boat  as  far  ashore  as 
possible,  concealed  the  oars,  rudder,  and  sail,  under  the  bushes 
from  thieves,  and  hung  up  our  provisions  as  high  as  we  could 
in  trees,  to  preserve  them  from  bears  and  other  wild  animals, 
and  then  composed  ourselves  for  sleep,  after  worship,  in  the 
open  air. 

"  The  next  day  being  Sabbath,  I  was  anxious  to  get  up  early, 
hoping  to  get  to  town  in  time  to  preach.  We  got  up  with  day 
light,  and  one  of  our  company  went  back  by  the  water  side  in 
quest  of  the  road,  and  the  other  went  up  the  water  side,  now  a 
moderate  brook,  with  the  same  view.  He  returned  in  about  an 
hour's  time,  informing  us  that  he  had  found  a  good  path,  more 
than  a  mile  fartlier  up  the  brook.  We  could  not  conceive  how 
a  path  was  found  so  far  up  the  brook,  and  none  leading  to  it. 
We  waited  till  the  other  man  returned,  who  told  us  that  he  had 
seen  no  vestige   of  a  road.     With   courage  we   set  off  for  the 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  813 

path  found  by  the  other,  and  soon  reached  it.  We  went  cheer- 
fully along  for  three  miles,  when  it  went  into  a  brook,  but  did 
not  come  out.  There  was  no  trace  of  a  road  on  the  other  side. 
We  stood  amazed  for  a  few  seconds,  when  one  said,  '  This  is  aa 
Indian  path  for  carrying  their  canoes  from  one  brook  or  river 
to  the  other.'  At  once  we  understood  it  to  be  the  case,  but  it 
left  us  more  puzzled  than  ever  how  to  dispose  of  ourselves. 

"  We  resolved  to  make  another  attempt  to  find  a  road.  A 
regular  ridge  of  hills  rose  on  each  side  of  the  brook.  One 
wont  up  each  hill  to  the  top,  and  one  went  along  the  side  of 
tlie  brook,  looking  to  the  right  and  left  carefully.  I  went  down 
the  brook  side,  but  soon  met  with  long  grass  and  soft  swampy 
ground,  in  which  I  sank  deep.  I  was  struck  with  a  sudden 
fright,  lest  I  should  sink  irrecoverably,  or  be  bitten  by  snakes, 
or  unheard-of  creatures  (water-kelpies),  for  the  long  grass  con- 
cealed danger.  I  reached  a  lake,  went  along  the  edge  of  it 
nearly  a  mile,  and  then  returned. 

"■  The  two  men  who  went  up  the  hill  having  returned,  we  all 
met,  and  soon  found  that  the  least  mark  of  a  path  had  not  been 
seen  by  any  of  us.  The  day  was  excessively  hot,  and  we  were 
already  tired  and  hungry,  without  anything  to  eat,  for  we  had 
expected  to  reach  a  house  in  time  for  breakfast. 

"  The  lake  puzzled  us  as  completely  as  the  want  of  a  path. 
Mr.  Kavanagh  made  not  the  least  mention  of  it.  With  reluct- 
ance we  gave  up  the  hope  of  reaching  Sydney  by  land.  We 
resolved  to  return  to  our  boat,  to  sail  back  twenty  miles,  then 
cross  to  the  next  prong  or  branch  of  the  lake,  which  would 
carry  us  out  to  the  sea,  and  so  come  to  Sydney  from  the  east. 
Though  we  were  already  tired,  by  travelling  through  long  grass, 
small  entangling  bushes,  and  windfalls,  yet  we  returned  to  the 
boat  with  courage  and  speed.  We  found  everything  as  we  left 
them." 

We  regret  that  the  rest  of  this  interesting  account  has  been 

lost,  but  we  may  explain  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were 

placed,  and   the   manner  in   which   they  were  relieved.     The 

place  where  they  had  landed  was  the  head  of  what  is  now 
27 


314  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

called  St.  George's  Channel.  Deeming  it  impossible  to  reach 
Sydney  overland,  they,  as  mentioned,  here  turned  back,  and 
proceeded  up  the  lake  twenty  miles,  aud  rounding  the  cape, 
they  passed  through  what  is  called  the  Straits  of  Barra,  and 
through  the  little  entrance  of  the  Bras  d'Or  out  to  sea,  and 
then  round  the  coast  into  Sydney  Harbour,  which  is  six  or 
seven  miles  to  the  southward.  This  harbour  stretched  a  con- 
siderable distance  into  the  interior.  Four  miles  from  the  en- 
trance it  divides  into  two  branches,  called  the  North-west  and 
the  South-west  arms.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  latter  and 
two  or  three  miles  above  the  point  of  divergence  is  situated  the 
town  of  Sydney,  established  in  1784,  when  Cape  Breton  re- 
ceived a  separate  government  and  Governor  Des  Barres  was 
appointed  Governor.  This  arm  extends  some  distance  farther 
up,  and  at  its  head  receives  two  rivers  or  brooks,  the  northern- 
most proceeding  from  a  little  lake  called  the  Portage  Lake. 
From  this  the  land  is  low  for  two  or  three  miles,  to  a  lagune, 
or,  as  it  is  termed  in  this  country  from  the  old  French  name,  a 
Barrasoi,  at  the  head  of  St.  George's  Channel  already  men- 
tioned. The  distance  between  the  two  waters  is  only  four  or 
five  miles.  Now  it  was  here  that  they  had  lost  their  way. 
They  had  passed  the  lagune  and  the  low  ground  to  the  lake, 
and  they  were  almost  within  sight  of  the  head  of  the  harbour. 
Indeed  they  discovered  afterward,  that  they  were  almost  within 
call  of  the  very  people  they  were  going  to  visit. 

He  was  cordially  welcomed  among  the  people  by  whom  he 
was  invited,  but  we  have  no  particular  account  of  his  labours 
among  them.  The  general  results  of  this  visit  are  stated  by 
the  Presbytery  as  follows :  "  Partly  because  so  few  of  them 
were  desirous  of  the  gospel,  (the  generality  being  lukewarm,) 
that  they  could  scarcely  support  it ;  and  partly  because  there 
was  no  hope  of  getting  their  petition  granted  for  a  long  time, 
through  the  backwardness  of  ministers  to  come  out;  and  be- 
cause so  many  other  places  were  entitled  to  be  supplied  before 
them,  they  were  advised  to  delay  sending  home  their  petition 
for  sope  tjn^e.     Biit  ha4  they  a  minister,  there  is  no  reason  to 


REV.    JAMES    WACUREGORj    D.D.  315 

doubt  that  he  would  soou  form  a  congregation  ;  for  the  gospel 
would  be  a  new  thing  to  them,  and  through  the  divine  blessing, 
would  run,  as  it  did  among  the  Gentiles  at  first."  On  this 
visit  he  baptized  two  children  belonging  to  Janet  Sutherland. 
Being  anxious  to  enjoy  the  ordinances  of  religion,  she  induced 
her  husband  to  sell  his  farm  and  remove  to  Pictou,  that  they 
might  be  under  the  ministry  of  Doctor  MacGregor.  She  lived 
a  consistent  life,  and  her  family  followed  in  her  footsteps.  One 
of  her  sons  then  baptized  was  the  late  Wm.  Sutherland,  after- 
ward for  many  years  an  Elder  in  Doctor  MacGregor's  congrega- 
tion in  his  own  lifetime,  and  that  of  his  successor.  The  other 
was  the  father  of  the  Kev.  George  Sutherland,  Free  Church 
minister  at  Charlotte  Town,  Prince  Edward  Island. 

The  Miramichi,  next  to  the  St.  John,  is  the  largest  and  most 
important  river  in  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick.  In  two 
large  branches  it  traverses  nearly  the  whole  country,  and  falls 
into  the  Bay  of  the  same  name  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
It  is  navigable  more  than  thirty  miles  for  large  vessels,  and  for 
barges  nearly  to  its  sources.  It  has  since  been  famous  for  its 
large  export  of  timber,  and  its  salmon  fishery.  The  first 
British  settler  was  a  Mr.  Davidson,  who  in  the  year  1764  emi- 
grated from  the  North  of  Scotland,  and  on  the  following  year 
obtained  a  grant  of  100,000  acres  on  the  South-west  Branch. 
He  was  afterwards  joined  by  a  Mr.  Cort  from  Aberdeen,  and 
they  soon  established  a  valuable  trade.  During  the  American 
Revolutionary  war,  the  place  was  plundered  by  the  Indians, 
but  it  recovered,  and  at  the  time  of  his  visit,  a  population  con- 
siderable for  the  time  had  been  collected  from  various  quarters. 

In  the  year  1797  he  paid  his  first  visit  to  Miramichi.  He 
had  been  applied  to  as  early  as  the  year  1791,  but  hitherto 
had  not  been  able  to  visit  them.  We  are  not  certain  how  he 
went,  but  it  is  probable  that  it  was  by  water.  In  regard  to  his 
visits  to  this  quarter  all  the  information  I  have  been  enabled  to 
gather  is  contained  in  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  the 
Rev.  John  MacCurdy : 

''  Many  recollect  him  distinctly,  but  few  can  give  dates.     His 


316  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

being  present  at  the  induction  of  Mr.  Thomson,  in  1817,  is 
"well  remembered.  One  old  lady,  Mrs.  MacR.,  remembers  his 
visit  in  1797.  She  and  another  person  speak  of  a  sermon  from 
Isa.  Iv.  1 :  *Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  &c./  as  having  made 
a  deep  impression.'  They  remember  his  remark  on  the  word, 
'  Ho,'  that  it  was  the  cry  of  one  who  passed  through  the  streets 
of  the  city.  Mr.  Perley  remembers  of  his  coming  up  from 
Bay  du  Vin,  in  a  vessel  with  two  ship-masters,  that  he  called  at 
his  house,  and  that,  as  they  were  at  the  door,  the  Doctor  turned 
their  attention  to  a  field  of  ripe  wheat  before  them,  and  said, 
referring  to  the  drooping  heads,  *  these  were  the  heaviest,  and 
so  they  that  have  most  grace,  are  the  most  humble.'  I  sup- 
pose that  during  his  last  visit  he  did  not  itinerate  any.  But, 
on  the  first  and  second  he  preached  and  baptized  at  Black  River, 
Bay  du  Vin,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  Miramichi,  up  as  far  as 
the  point,  so  called,  at  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South- 
west Branches.  Those  who  recollect  him  remark  his  happy 
faculty  in  introducing  religious  conversation." 

The  result  of  this  visit  was  an  application  for  a  minister. 
Upon  this  the  Presbytery  say  in  their  letter  already  referred  to  : 
"  Though  the  people  of  Miramichi,  in  New  Brunswick,  be  last 
in  their  application,  yet  they  themselves  consider  their  case  as 
so  deplorable  above  others,  especially  on  account  of  the  break- 
ing dispensations  they  have  met  with,  that  they  are  entitled  to 
be  first  answered.  And,  indeed  it  is  hard  to  deny  their  claim." 
One  of  the  "  breaking  dispensations"  here  referred  to,  was  the 
misconduct  of  an  individual  bearing  the  name  of  a  minister, 
who  had  been  stationed  for  a  time  among  them. 

To  meet  the  demands  thus  made  upon  them  from  these  new 
fields  as  well  as  the  old,  the  Presbytery  continued  to  importune 
the  Synod  in  Scotland.  That  body  showed  every  desire  to 
meet  their  wishes.  Preachers  were  appointed  to  proceed  hither, 
but  on  one  pretext  or  another,  they  managed  to  elude  the  ap- 
pointment. Some  positively  refused,  and  were  even  for  a  time 
deprived  of  their  license.  One  of  their  letters  appealing  for 
ministerial  help  we  give  in  the  Appendix,  as  it  will  show 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,    I).D.  317 

the  state  of  the  church  at  that  time,  and  also  as  it  bears 
internal  evidence  of  its  being  the  composition  of  Doctor  Mac- 
Grcgor.* 

In  turning  to  the  immediate  sphere  of  his  labours,  we  must 
now  advert  to  a  change  tliat  from  this  period  began  to  pass  over 
its  moral  and  social  condition.  During  the  first  years  of  his 
ministry,  we  have  had  to  record  a  great  improvement  in  the  state 
of  the  people  of  his  charge.  But  from  this  time  succeeded  a 
period  of  degeneracy,  which  continued  for  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  years,  during  which  the  labours  of  himself  and  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry  were  one  continued  struggle  against 
the  influx  of  irreligion  and  vice.  His  own  account  of  it  is  as 
follows : 

"  By  this  time  the  influence  of  the  war  began  to  reach  us, 
and  we  indulged  a  hope,  a  vain  hope,  that  it  would  all  prove  to 
our  advantage.  It  was  so  in  part.  Our  government  raised  a 
regiment  to  help  it  on,  and  this  freed  us  of  almost  all  the  vaga- 
bonds and  drunken  old  soldiers,  who  had  lived  in  Pictou  since 
the  peace  of  1783,  for  they  all,  and  they  only,  enlisted. 

"  We  hoped  to  profit  by  an  increase  of  the  price  of  such  ar- 
ticles as  we  could  sell ;  and  in  this  too  we  partly  obtained  our 
desire.  Among  other  things,  squared  timber  came  to  be  in  de- 
mand; and  even  this  might  have  been  turned  to  profit  had  we 
known  to  make  it  in  moderation,  and  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing articles  really  useful ;  but  the  love  of  money  did  not  allow 
us  to  stop  here.  The  farmer  neglected  his  farm  and  went  to 
square  timber;  the  consequence  was,  that  he  had  to  go  to  the  mer- 
chant to  buy  provisions,  and  the  merchant  persuaded  him  that 
he  needed  many  other  things  besides  provisions.  If  the  farmei' 
scrupled  to  buy  mere  superfluities,  he  would  ask  him,  Why  do 
you  hesitate?  you  know  that  a  stick  of  timber  will  pay  it.  Thus 
a  taste  for  vanities  and  expensive  living  was  introduced  among 
us.  This  answered  well  enough  for  a  time,  but  after  a  few 
years  the  price  of  timber  fell,  and  the  taste  continued  and  could 
not  be  gratified.     A  still  greater  evil  was,  that  the  love  of  grog 

See  Appendix  E. 
27* 


318  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

was  introduced  among  us.  We  did  not  see  its  evil  in  time,  for 
the  enemy  sowed  his  tares  while  we  were  asleep.  But  after 
some  time  it  was  seen  to  increase,  and  spread  irresistibly.  Many 
thousand  pounds  worth  of  timber  have  been  sold  from  Pictou, 
which  cost  nothing  but  the  making;  but  it  were  telling  Pic- 
tou many  thousand  pounds  that  never  a  stick  of  it  had  been 
made." 

This  degeneracy  began  about  this  period.  As  early  as  the 
year  1797  we  find  the  following  drawn  up  by  him,  in  the  name 
of  the  Session,  and  read  to  the  congregation  on  announcing  a 
day  of  humiliation  : 

Pictou,  April  22(/,  1797. 

The  Session  taking  under  their  serious  consideration  the  abounding  sin- 
fulness  of  professors,  together  with  the  aspeet  of  Providence  towards  the 
world,  and  especially  toward  this  place,  have  judged  tliat  we  have  a  loud 
call  to  the  exercise  of  deep  humiliation  and  earnest  prayer. 

Ignorance  of  the  Scriptures  is  a  prevailing  evil,  which  is  the  cause  of 
ignorance  of  God,  of  Christ,  as  to  his  person,  offices,  and  righteousness,  as 
also  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  his  renewing  and  sanctifying  work  in  the  soul, 
and,  of  course,  the  cause  of  much  ignorance,  carelessness,  and  wickedness, 
in  our  daily  practice.  People  in  general  are  strangers  to  the  faith  and 
love  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  these  powerful  motives  to  holiness  of  heart 
and  life,  and  so  they  are  left  to  a  soul-ruining  trust  in  their  obedience  to  a 
broken  covenant  of  works,  which  they  are  daily  breaking  more  and  more. 
People  in  general  are  strangers  to  their  guilt  by  original  sin,  and  fo 
(the)  hellisli  corruption  of  their  whole  nature  by  that  guilt,  and  so  their 
religion  does  not  at  all  reach  the  heart,  but  consists  in  superficial,  outward 
performances.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  tiiat  people  who  are  in  such  a  case 
toward  God,  should  have  any  true  love  toward  one  another,  accordingly 
there  is  little  attention  paid  to  the  duties  of  justice  or  mercy  farther  than 
self-interest  leads. 

The  young  generation  are  growing  up  in  ignorance,  vanity,  jiride, 
and  self-conceit,  following  all  the  bad,  and  little  or  nothing  of  the  good  ex- 
ample of  the  aged. 

The  people  of  this  place  arc  particularly  guilty  of  a  woful  contempt  of 
the  gospel,  a  dreadful  stupidity  under  judgments,  a  grievous  backsliding 
from  reformation  attained  to,  a  heinous  profanation  of  the  Sabbath  day,  a 
breaking  of  their  Baptismal  engagements,  not  giving  education  to  tlieir 
children,  nor  endeavouring  to  bring  them  up  in  the  fear  of  God,  a  growing 
inclination  to  the  horrible  vice  of  drinking,  wasting  their  means  to  ruin 
soul  and  body,  and  many  other  evils  which  might  be  mentioned.  On 
these  accounts  the  judgments  of  God  are  abroad  in  the  earth.     A  most  ex- 


REV.    JAMES    MACUREGOR,    D.D.  319 

pensive,  bloody,  and  destructive  war  has  been  desolating'  the  nations  for 
s.veral  years  past,  ai)d  thoug-h  God  lias  kindly  shielded  us  Iroin  its  worst 
effects,  we  have  been  neither  thankful  nor  humble.  lie  has,  however, 
made  us  to  feel  several  strokes  of  late,  though  unspeakably  lighter  than 
we  might  expect.  The  last  crop  was  much  blasted,  the  last  winter  was 
uncommonly  severe,  much  cattle  have  sutTercd  tlirough  scarcity,  and  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  many  of  the  poor  may  suffer  through  the  ensuing  summer 
Besides  tliese  there  are  grievous  spiritual  judgments  upon  us,  which  few 
of  u  feel,  as  blindness  of  mind,  hardness  of  heart,  unbelief,  earthlincss  of 
mind,  &,c.  For  these  and  other  reasons  the  Session  call  all  under  their 
inspection  to  the  duty  of  humiliation  and  prayer;  sorrowing  for  our  sins 
with  a  godly  sorrow,  and  drawing  near  to  the  throne  of  grace,  for  the  spirit 
of  grace  and  supplication  to  lead  us  in  this  and  other  duties  ;  and  par- 
ticularly to  receive  the  blood  of  Christ  by  faith,  for  pardon  and  sanclifica- 
tion.  And  the  Session  accordingly  appoint  Thursday,  the  27th  day  of 
April,  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  humiliation  and  prayer,  by  all  under  their 
inspection." 

The  above  indicates  that  already  he  felt  the  commencement 
of  a  change.  But  the  evil  grew,  and  in  subsequent  years  at- 
tained a  prodigious  height.  To  this  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
refer  in  the  sequel.  In  the  meantime  the  above  "will  show  how 
prompt  he  was  in  noticing  its  commencement,  and  how  earnest 
he  was  in  sounding  the  alarm. 

As  we  are  tracing  the  social  history  of  Pictou,  we  may  re- 
mark that  the  year  1799  was  distinguished  for  the  first  contes- 
ted election  in  Pictou,  remarkable  in  itself,  but  especially  in 
its  ultimate  results,  as  the  commencement  of  the  party  feuds, 
which  have  since  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  county.  At  that 
time  the  counties  of  Halifax,  Colchester,  and  Pictou  formed  but 
one  county,  but  in  reality  the  representation  had  hitherto  been 
in  the  hands  of  the  town  of  Halifax,  and  indeed  of  the  Govern- 
ment officials  there.  But  a  feeling  was  now  rising  against  such 
subserviency,  and  the  voice  of  the  country  was  beginning  to 
make  itself  heard.  The  present  was  the  first  attempt  made  for 
the  representation  of  the  rural  districts  of  the  county,  and  ta- 
king a  wider  view  of  the  struggle,  it  was  the  commencement  of 
an  efi"ort  to  bring  popular  influence  to  bear  upon  the  Govern- 
ment. Cottnam  Tenge,  who  for  a  time  made  a  noise  in  the 
Province,  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  brilliant  talents,  and  an 


320  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

eloquent  speaker,  'was  at  that  time  the  leader  of  the  popular 
party.  To  contest  the  county  of  Halifax,  he  united  with  Mr. 
Mortimer,  then  the  chief  man  in  Pictou,  and  wielding  so  much 
influence  as  to  be  called  the  king  of  Pictou,  and  Mr.  Fulton, 
afterward  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  who  was  an 
influential  man  in  the  district  of  Colchester.  The  most  no- 
ticeable of  the  nominees  of  Government  was  the  late  Michael 
Wallace,  for  a  long  time  treasurer  of  the  Province,  a  member 
of  the  Council,  and  on  two  occasions,  administrator  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, during  the  absence  of  the  Governor.  He  was  long 
one  of  the  most  influential  men  in  the  Province.  Indeed  no 
one  man  had  the  entire  machinery  of  Government  so  entirely 
at  his  disposal  as  he  had.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  then,  that 
it  was  considered  unpardonable  presumption  for  any  man  in  the 
country  to  set  up  as  a  candidate  for  what  was  then  the  Metropolitan 
county,  particularly  in  opposition  to  Government.  The  re- 
sult, however,  was  that,  principally  from  the  inhabitants  of  Col- 
chester and  Pictou  combining  on  behalf  of  Fulton  and  Mortimer, 
Wallace  suffered  a  complete  defeat.  In  Pictou,  only  W^illiam 
MacKay  and  three  or  four  others  voted  for  him. 

From  this  period  Wallace  had  a  most  vindictive  spirit  against 
Pictou  and  its  leading  inhabitants,  and  those  being  the  days  of 
irresponsible  Executive  power,  he  was  able  to  exercise  Govern, 
ment  influence  for  their  annoyance.  He  also  extended  his 
hostility  against  our  church,  of  which  Mr.  Mortimer  and  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  Pictou  were  members,  and  he  continued 
to  encourage  MacKay  and  other  dissentients,  who  gradually 
formed  a  party  opposed  to  the  leading  inhabitants  of  the  dis- 
trict, both  in  church  and  state.  Thus  it  is  generall}'  considered 
that  the  seeds  of  division  were  sown  at  this  time,  which  brought 
forth  their  bitter  fruits  many  years  after.  But  to  this  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  allude  in  the  sequel. 

In  connection  with  this  election  a  circumstance  may  be  men- 
tioned indicating  the  progress  of  the  county.  The  last  day's 
polling  was  at  the  East  River,  the  previous  having  been  at 
Fisher's  Grant,  then  called  Walmesley,  where  a  town  had  been 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREaOR,    D.D.  321 

laid  out.  After  the  last  day's  polling,  the  Doctor  entertained 
the  candidates  and  some  strangers  at  dinner,  and  made  for 
them  a  fire  of  coal.  This  was  considered  quite  a  novelty,  and 
an  important  event  for  the  country.  It  was  only  the  year  pre- 
vious (1798)  that  coal  had  been  discovered  on  a  brook  passing 
through  the  rear  of  his  and  Wm.  MacKay's  lots.  In  that  year 
Wm.  Fraser  carried  a  sample  to  Halifax  to  the  Governor,  Sir 
John  Wentworth,  who  sent  him  with  it  to  Admiral  Sawyer, 
who  ordered  a  small  cargo  to  be  sent  to  Halifax,  which  was 
done,  but  it  did  not  prove  of  good  quality.  The  Doctor  and 
some  of  his  neighbours  took  out  licenses  from  government  to 
dig  coal  on  their  own  land,  and  soon  after  he  used  them  regu- 
larly in  his  house.  His  pit  was  on  the  banks  of  the  brook 
back  of  the  present  mines,  about  a  stone's  throw  from  the  bridge 
on  the  old  road  from  the  Middle  Eiver  to  the  East.  In  the 
fall  of  the  year  he  regularly  got  out  his  winter's  supply,  and 
sometimes  sold  some.  The  blacksmiths  who  had  previously 
burned  charcoal,  now  supplied  themselves  with  coal  for  their 
work.  Afterward  when  the  mines  were  leased,  these  private 
licenses  were  all  revoked,  but  it  was  privately  intimated  to  him 
that  he  might  dig  as  much  as  he  liked. 

As  we  have  referred  to  his  temporal  affairs  we  may  here 
mention,  that  shortly  after  his  marriage  he  obtained  a  lot  of 
land  which  he  cultivated  from  that  time  forward.  Considering 
the  manner  in  which  his  stipend  was  paid,  as  already  recorded, 
and  the  increase  in  the  price  of  almost  every  article  of  living 
in  subsequent  years  through  the  war,  we  need  not  wonder  that 
he  found  this  necessary  to  the  subsistence  of  his  family.  He 
did  not,  however,  follow  farming  as  a  business  in  such  a  way  as 
to  neglect  the  work  of  the  ministry.  In  no  one  of  its  duties 
did  he  relax.  It  has  too  often  been  the  case  in  this  country, 
that  ministers  have  made  the  insufficiency  of  their  support  an 
excuse  for  neglecting  some  of  their  sacred  functions — either 
giving  up  visiting  and  catechizing  altogether,  or  giving  little 
attention  to  their  preparation  for  the  pulpit.  They  have  turned 
to  other  employments,  making  the  work  of  the  ministry  a  se- 


322  MEMOIR   OF   TUB 

condary  matter,  and  the  result  has  been  to  increase  the  evil 
complained  of — to  render  the  support  still  more  inadequate,  and 
often  to  leave  a  congregation  to  spiritual  barrenness,  and  per- 
haps to  send  leanness  to  the  minister's  own  soul.  To  the  tempta- 
tion to  relax  his  diligence  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  either  at 
home  or  abroad,  by  turning  aside  to  other  employments.  Doctor 
MaeGregor  never  gave  way.  He  generally  employed  a  man  to 
work  his  farm,  and  with  the  thrifty  care  of  a  wife,  who,  as  my 
informant  expressed  it,  <'  looked  after  every  thing  outside  and 
in,"  it  added  but  little  to  his  cares.  Still,  such  was  the  activity 
of  his  mind,  that  he  exercised  an  active  superintendence  over 
the  operations  of  the  farm,  and  took  an  interest  in  having 
them  conducted  in  a  superior  manner.  Most  of  his  people  at 
that  time  managed  their  farms  in  a  very  slovenly  and  unprofit- 
able manner,  but  among  his  other  efforts  for  their  welfare,  he 
endeavoured  to  lead  them  to  improved  modes  of  cultivation. 
A  person  told  me  that  he  has  heard  him  say  from  the  pulpit, 
that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  do  them  good  in  every  way  he  could. 
In  pursuance  of  this  view  he  imported  agricultural  works ;  in 
bis  intercourse  with  the  people  he  was  often  found  pointing  out 
errors  in  their  system  of  farming,  and  suggesting  improved 
modes  of  culture ;  and  on  his  own  farm  he  took  the  lead  in 
agricultural  improvement.  He  endeavoured  to  secure  the  ser- 
vices of  farm  servants,  who  had  been  acquainted  with  the  im- 
proved systems  adopted  in  the  old  country,  he  introduced  im- 
proved implements,  he  had  the  first  roller  and  the  first  double 
harrow  on  the  river,  and  we  deem  it  not  unworthy  of  notice, 
that,  when  some  years  later  a  Provincial  Agricultural  Society 
was  formed,  he  took  the  first  prize  for  turnips.  These  things? 
however,  did  not  divert  his  mind  from  his  great  business. 
They  were  but  the  "  side  work"  of  an  active  mind,  whose  main 
efforts  were  engaged  in  more  important  concerns,  and  they  were 
a  sort  of  relaxation  from  the  sterner  cares  and  more  solemn 
duties  of  his  sacred  office. 

Referring  to  himself  personally  we  have  only  to  remark,  that 
from  this  time  forward  the  improvement  in  his  domestic  cir- 


KEV.    JAMBS   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  323 

cumstances  afforded  him  more  favourable  opportunities  for  study. 
From  the  time  of  his  arrival  he  was  dilijieut  in  this,  as  far  as 
his  circumstances  would  permit.  He  did  not  make  his  labours 
in  travelling  an  excuse  for  neglecting  his  books,  or  preaching 
without  preparation.  lie  had  as  he  was  able  given  "  attend- 
ance to  reading,"  and  his  sermons,  if  not  written,  were  the 
result  of  much  thought.  But  his  frequent  absence  from  home, 
sometimes  for  weeks  together,  was  very  unfavourable  for  study. 
But  he  was  now  relieved  from  the  disadvantages  under  which 
he  had  formerly  been  placed.  His  congregation  was  not  so 
scattered.  He  did  not  generally  need  to  be  from  home  at  night 
when  visiting  or  catechizing,  and  his  domestic  affairs  were  now 
so  well  attended  to,  as  to  leave  him  free  from  anxiety,  and  to 
afford  him  all  requisite  outward  comfort.  These  advantages  he 
diligently  improved.  Keturning  home  from  visiting,  he  would 
sometimes  scarcely  wait  to  warm  himself,  till  he  sat  down  to 
his  reading  or  his  writing.  His  remote  situation  precluded 
him  from  any  minute  acquaintance  with  the  literature  of  the 
times,  or  plunging  deeply  into  the  lore  of  the  past,  yet  his  dili- 
gence was  such  in  availing  himself  of  the  means  at  his  disposal, 
that  he  accumulated  a  large  amount  of  general  information. 
And  in  Theology  he  gathered  a  stock  of  books  of  the  old  di- 
vinity, good  for  his  circumstances,  and  by  his  diligent  study  of 
them  as  well  as  of  the  Scriptures,  his  "  profiting  appeared  unto 
all." 

It  may  be  mentioned  to  the  credit  of  the  parties  concerned, 
that  a  number  of  persons  in  Britain  having  heard  his  represen- 
tations regarding  the  scarcity  of  books,  got  up  a  respectable 
subscription  for  the  purchase  of  such  as  might  be  useful  to 
ministers  and  people.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Alice,  of  Paisley,  in  one 
of  his  letters  specially  mentions  among  the  contributors,  R. 
Scott  Moncrieff,  Esq.,  of  Glasgow,  Doctors  Erskine,  Hunter, 
and  Davidson,  of  Edinburgh,  Lady  Maxwell,  and  John 
Thornton,  of  London,  the  latter  of  whom  sent  five  guineas. 
Such  books  as  suited  ministers  were  to  be  retained  for  the  use 
of  members  of  Presbytery,  and  the  rest  were  to  be  distributed 


324  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

as  they  might  see  fit  among  the  people.  One  letter  mentions 
two  boxes  besides  what  had  been  previously  sent.  These  formed 
a  sort  of  Congregational  Library,  and  were  regularly  lent  out, 
and  were  valuable  in  diffusing  scriptural  information  among  the 
people.  When  we  say  that  they  were  lent  out,  we  do  not  say 
that  they  were  always  returned,  for  many  are  still  scattered  up 
and  down  the  country.  We  may  add  that  one  of  his  Scottish 
correspondents  mentions  this  as  another  result  of  his  printed 
letter. 

Of  his  studies  at  this  time  we  have  a  specimen  in  his  Essay 
on  the  Millennium,  published  in  the  Christian  jMagnzine  for  the 
year  1800.  This  Essay  we  have  deemed  well  worthy  of  repub- 
lication. We  believe  that  it  will  be  found  to  indicate  a  mind 
of  considerable  power  of  thought,  and  a  close  study  of  the 
Scriptures.  With  all  the  conclusions  the  reader  may  not  be 
disposed  to  coincide.  In  his  remarks  concerning  changes  of 
climate,  he  certainly  draws  general  conclusions,  which  the  few 
facts  adduced  will  not  warrant.  Granting  that  the  climate  of 
America  has  been  modified  by  the  clearing  away  of  the  forest 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  yet  this  is  far  from  warranting 
the  inference  that  the  climate  at  the  earth's  poles  will  be  so 
moderate,  that  it  will  be  fit  for  human  habitations,  and  the  soil 
there  capable  of  cultivation.  A  closer  acquaintance  with  the 
physical  structure  of  the  globe,  would  have  shown,  that  there 
were  great  natural  causes  in  operation  which  must  for  ever  pre- 
vent such  a  result,  without  an  entire  change  in  the  natural  laws 
by  which  our  planet  is  governed,  nay  in  the  arrangements  of 
the  whole  solar  system.  The  question  of  the  duration  of  the 
Millennium  too  is  one  open  for  discussion. 

Yet  still  in  reference  to  the  age  to  come  his  conclusions  as  to 
its  intellectual  and  spiritual  character  are  just  and  scriptural, 
and  the  whole  viewed  as  the  production  of  one  in  so  secluded  a 
situation,  as  to  bo  indebted  to  almost  no  other  aids  but  his  own 
meditations  and  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  we  doom  a  most 
creditable  production.  Two  remarks  made  at  the  outset  will 
show  how  clear  and  accurate  were  his  views  as  to  the  interpre- 


EEV.   JAMES   MACGREaOR,   D.D.  825 

tation  of  Scripture.  "  Indeed  the  Millennium  is  so  lively  an 
emblem  of  heaven,  that  it  is  not  uncommon  for  both  prophets 
and  apostles  in  their  descriptions  to  slide  insensibly  from  the 
one  into  the  other,  so  that  sometimes  it  is  difficult  to  know 
which  of  the  two  they  describe."  And,  again,  "  In  treating  of 
it  we  need  not  confine  ourselves  to  those  passages  of  Scripture, 
which  speak  directly  to  the  point,  because  the  Millennium  be- 
ing the  most  prosperous  period  of  the  church  upon  earth,  what- 
ever passages  will  apply  to  other  prosperous  periods  must  apply 
to  this  with  greater  force."  In  these  remarks,  if  we  mistake 
not,  there  is  indicated  an  acquaintance  with  the  true  structure 
of  prophecy,  which  anticipates  the  conclusions  of  the  most 
learned  recent  writers  on  the  subject. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1800,  he  was  called  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  his  aged  father.  He  had  long  since  become  so  en- 
gaged in  his  work  here,  as  to  have  no  desire  to  reside  in  his 
native  country,  yet  the  tendercst  feelings  of  a  son  and  brother 
went  forth  to  his  surviving  relatives.  None  of  his  letters  to 
them  are  preserved,  but  the  recollections  of  those  who  heard 
them  point  them  out  as  characterised  by  deep  affection  for  his 
friends,  sympathy  with  them  in  their  trials,  and  full  of  Chris- 
tian advice  and  consolation.  As  his  circumstances  improved, 
too,  he  gave  more  substantial  tokens  of  his  sympathy  by  send- 
ing means  to  add  to  the  comforts  of  his  declining  years.  Thus 
a  letter  of  Mr.  Barlas  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  £9  for  his 
father. 

His  letters  also  contained  full  particulars  of  his  circumstan- 
ces here,  and  we  need  not  say  were  received  by  his  relatives 
and  acquaintances,  with  great  interest.  The  details,  regarding 
a  state  of  things  so  entirely  new  to  them, — his  trials  and  suc- 
cesses— were  all  read  with  eager  curiosity.  They  were  circulated 
from  house  to  house,  amongfriends  and  neighbours,  and  they  were 
read  and  talked  over  at  the  Christian  Fellowship  meeting.  His 
father  particularly  rejoiced  at  hearing  of  the  success  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  though  feeling  the  separation,  considered  himself  amply 
rewarded  by  hearing  of  his  son  being  the  means  of  advancing  the 
28 


326  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

honour  of  Christ  in  this  distant  land.  Thus  as  early  as  1788, 
he  writes  to  his  son  under  date, — April  7th,  as  follows: 

"  I  was  refreshed  to  hear  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barlas'  letter, 
of  your  ministry  having  some  apparent  success.  I  would  be 
glad  to  liear  something  particularly  from  yourself,  as  nothing 
would  be  more  satisfactory  to  me,  nor  such  a  compensation  for 
the  loss  of  you,  as  to  hear  that  you  would  be  instrumental  in 
spreading  the  fame  of  our  glorious  Ecdeemer,  in  the  dark  pla- 
ces of  the  earth,  and  a  people  formed  for  praising  him  ;  and  as 
the  Lord  in  his  adorable  sovereignty  has  called  you  to  a  dispen- 
sation of  ordinances  in  that  place,  faint  not  nor  be  discouraged 
at  trials  that  may  be  in  your  way,  for  the  Lord  has  the  manage- 
ment of  all  in  his  own  hand.  So  look  to  him  for  grace  to  trust 
in  him,  for  grace  and  strength  for  the  work  he  has  called  you 
to,  and  '  as  thy  day,  thy  strength  shall  be.'  " 

Mr.  Gilfillan,  in  a  letter  of  December  8th,  1794,  says,  "Every 
week  seemed  a  month  to  your  father,  at  the  time  he  used  to 
receive  letters  from  you.  He  reckons  it  his  principal  earthly 
comfort  to  hear  of  your  welfare,  and  of  the  success  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  those  parts  where  you  live.  I  cannot  describe  his  joy  to 
you.  The  tears  start  in  his  eyes,  and  his  face  glistens  when  he 
hears  from  you."  And  a  relative  in  writing  says,  that  he  was 
revived  in  hearing  of  his  success,  as  was  Jacob  on  hearing  that 
his  son  was  yet  alive. 

His  letters  to  his  son  contain  many  enquiries  regarding  this 
country  and  its  people,  and  his  labours  among  them,  and  among 
other  things  express  a  strong  desire  that  he  should  again  visit 
his  native  land,  with  a  natural  anxiety  of  a  parent,  urging 
this  particularly,  that  he  might  get  some  virtuous  woman  for  a 
wife. 

For  some  time  he  had  felt  the  infirmities  of  age  increasing 
upon  him.  He,  however  continued  to  attend  the  house  of  God 
till  the  beginning  of  the  winter  in  which  he  died,  where,  on  a 
seat  prepared  for  him  in  front  of  the  precentor's  desk,  on  ac- 
count of  his  being  dull  of  hearing,  he  listened  with  eagerness 
to  the  word  of  life.     He  also  regularly  attended  the  Fellowship 


EEV.   JAMES    MACaREGOR,    D.U.  327 

meeting.  He  also  continued  his  visits  to  read  religious  books 
to  his  neighbours.  Having  a  premonition  of  his  approaching 
c!id,  he  shortly  before  his  death  went  round  among  them  to 
give  them  his  last,  and  as  it  proved  his  dying  advice.  A  nephew, 
ill  writing  to  the  Doctor  an  account  of  his  decease,  says,  "  About 
two  nights  before  he  died  he  was  in  James  MacFarlaue's  house 
till  nine  o'clock  at  night,  with  the  Christian  Magazine,  where 
tiicre  was  a  discourse,  by  yourself  from  Nova  Scotia,  on  the 
Millennium,  which  we  all  liked  well.  He  endeavoured  to  keep 
the  Fellowship  meeting  with  us  as  often  as  he  could." 

On, the  first  Sabbath  of  the  year  and  of  this  century,  on  his 
grand-daughter,  who  waited  upon  him,  returning  from  public 
worship,  he  asked  what  was  Mr.  Gilfillan's  text?  She  told 
him,  "  When  a  few  years  are  come  I  shall  go  the  way  whence 
I  shall  not  return."  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  I  have  not  years  to 
live,  nor  months,  nor  weeks,  only  a  few  days."  On  the  Tues- 
day following  he  took  his  candle,  which  he  usually  carried  with 
him  when  he  went  out  reading,  lest  they  should  grudge  him  a 
light,  and  proceeded  to  a  neighbour's  house.  On  his  leaving,  she 
asked  him  if  she  would  go  and  bring  him  home.  He  replied, 
"James  will  surely  come  home  with  me  the  nicht,  for  it  is  the 
last."  The  evening  was  spent  partly,  at  least,  in  eflForts  for  the 
conversion  of  a  Roman  Catholic,  who  had  married  a  daughter 
of  James  MacFarlane,  a  friend  of  his  just  alluded  to.  His  neigh- 
bour came  home  with  him  to  the  door,  and  left  him  to  lift  the 
latch,  but  ere  the  door  wae  opened  he  had  fallen  down,  and  was 
carried  to  bed  insensible.  He  revived  the  following  day,  but 
died  on  Saturday.  During  these  few  days  he  conversed  with 
his  friends,  but  was  most  of  his  time  engnged  in  prayer,  and 
repeating  passages  of  Scripture.  When  asked  if  they  would 
send  for  Mr.  Gilfillan,  he  replied,  *'  No,  he  will  be  studying, 
and  I  do  not  wish  the  Lord's  work  to  be  interrupted.  Send 
him  word  that  I  am  a  dying  man,  and  he  e;in  remember  me  at 
a  throne  of  grace,  as  well  there  as  here."  One  asked  him  if 
he  had  any  thing  to  trust  to.  He  replied,  "  Yes,  I  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he   will  stand   at  the  latter  day 


328  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

upon  the  earth."  He  asked  a  friend  to  read  the  119th  Psalm. 
He  said  that  he  had  got  forty  passajres  out  of  that  psalm  to 
comfort  him  during  the  preceding  night.  Thus,  amid  exercises 
which  showed  how  much  his  mind  had  already  imbibed  the 
spirit  of  that  better  world  into  which  he  was  about  to  enter,  he 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus  on  the  8th  of  January,  1801 ;  aged  84  years, 
and  upward.  The  writer  visited  Comrie  and  Lochearne,  in 
September,  1847,  and  found  that,  at  the  distance  of  nearly  half 
a  century,  his  memory  was  still  fragrant. 

His  life  suggests  many  useful  reflections.  Especially,  it  illus- 
trates the  remarkable  manner  in  which  God  orders  ev^ts  in 
his  Providence,  both  with  reference  to  individuals  and  the  in- 
terests of  the  church ;  and  also  how  much  good  an  individual 
of  sincere  piety,  though  in  an  humble  station,  may  be  able  to 
accomplish. 

The  years  following  exhibit  the  same  course  of  labour  at 
home  and  abroad  as  in  the  past.  In  the  year  1800  he  visited 
Prince  Edward  Island,  but  we  have  gained  no  particulars  re- 
garding his  visit.  The  only  memorial  of  this  year  we  possess 
is  the  following  short  letter  to  an  old  acquaintance,  who  had 
emigrated  to  Philadelphia  : 

LETTER  TO  MR.  WILLIAM  YOUNG. 

PicTou,  July  \8th,  1800. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  was  once  a  companion  of  yours  at  Alloa,  under  the  name 
of  James  Drummond  MacGregor.  I  do  not  recollect  now  whether  I  knew 
of  your  emigration  to  America  before  my  own  emigration,  but  I  am  cer. 
tain  that  I  was  here  a  number  of  years  without  minding  that  such  a  man 
had  ever  been  ;  and  this  would  still  be  the  case  I  believe,  if  I  had  not 
chanced  to  see  your  name  on  the  title  page  of  a  book,  which  made  me 
recollect  an  old  acquaintance.  This  was  several  years  ago.  Since  then 
I  had  some  faint  desires  of  writing  to  you,  but  now  having  an  opportunity 
of  Mr.  Andrew  MacAra  carrying  a  letter  to  you,  my  desire  is  strong 
enough  to  move  my  fingers  to  write.  I  have  little  else  to  say  to  you,  but 
that  I  have  an  affectionate  remembrance  of  you,  thougli  I  hope  not  to  see 
you  in  tlii.s  world.  How  strange  the  dispensations  of  Providence!  You 
and  I  left  Scotland  and  came  to  tlie  parish  of  America,  but  there  are  never 
likely  to  meet.  What  puny  reptiles  are  we  to  live  on  one  continent  and 
never  to  meet  ! 

I  have  been  living  in  tliis  Province  very  near  fourteen  years:  almost  ten 
of  these  I  was  without  wife  or  fellow  labourer  in  my  work;  about  five 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREOOR,    D.D.  329 

years  ago  two  other  ministers  came  out  to  help  me,  which  have  been  a 
great  coiiifoit  to  me.  About  four  years  ago  I  married,  and  have  now  two 
cliildren  ;  these  also  are  comforts.  Here  we  live  in  a  manner  out  of  tlic 
world.  I  would  not  care  for  being  out  of  the  bustling  world,  but  I  am 
much  excluded  out  of  tlie  religious  world.  I  have  hardly  seen  a  dozen  of 
clergymen,  since  I  came  to  this  Province,  and  were  it  not  for  the  Christian 
M.igazinc,  I  would  hardly  know  any  thing  done  at  a  distance  in  the 
Church. 

I  beg  you  will  be  good  enough  to  write  me,  and  let  me  know  how 
you  fare,  and  what  family  you  have,  and  any  thing  else  you  may  think 
suitable.  You  may  expect  my  next  letter  to  be  longer.  Is  there  no  way 
for  me  to  get  the  Appendix  to  Gib's  Contemplations,  published  in  Phila- 
delphia? You  may  send  my  letter  to  the  care  of  Mr.  John  MacKenzic, 
cabinet  maker,  Halifax.  Wishing  you  the  favour  and  love  of  Jesus  Christ. 
I  am.  Dear  Sir,  Yours,  &,c., 

James  MacGregor. 

From  the  minutes  of  Presbytery  wliich  began  to  be  recorded 
in  the  year  1801,  we  learn  that  he  was  appointed  in  the  Litter 
year  to  Amherst  for  tliree  Sabbaths,  and  from  a  subsequent 
minute  of  Presbytery  in  -which  he  reports  the  settlement  of  a 
case  of  some  difficulty  in  the  congregation,  it  appears  that  the 
appointment  was  fulfilled. 

In  the  year  following  (  1802)  the  brethren  were  delighted  by 
the  accession  to  their  number  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Dick, 
who  arrived  about  midsummer  to  share  their  labours  and  trials. 
He  had  been  a  carpenter,  but  moved  by  the  earnest  entreaties 
of  Doctor  MacGregor  for  some  to  go  to  his  assistance,  he  devoted 
himself  to  study  with  a  view  to  coming  to  Nova  Scotia.  He 
was  a  man  of  warm  temperament,  and  from  the  time  of  his 
entering  upon  his  studies  a  perfect  enthusiast  in  regard  to  mis- 
sions to  America.  He  was  possessed  of  good  talents,  and  in  his 
preaching  had  a  very  earnest  and  singularly  attractive  manner, 
so  that  of  the  early  Presbyterian  ministers  of  this  Province  he 
was,  with  the  exception  of  Doctor  MacGregor,  the  most  popular. 
He  was  also  a  man  of  most  amiable  disposition,  so  that  he  was 
universally  beloved,  while  a  vein  of  humour  added  to  the  plea- 
sure of  his  society.  In  view  of  all  these  circumstances,  his 
arrival  gave  great  pleasure  to  the  brethren,  not  only  as  afi"ord- 

ine:  supply  for  one  of  the  destitute  fields,  but  as  affording  them 

~    28* 


330  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

the  addition  to  their  fellowship  of  "a  brother  beloved."  On 
his  arrival  he  preached  for  a  time  in  Prince  Edward  Island, 
and  in  several  places  in  Nova  Scotia.  In  the  fall  of  1802  he 
was  called  to  the  congregation  of  Douglas,  as  it  was  then  called. 
It  embraced  not  only  Maitland  and  Noel,  but  a  large  extent  of 
country  back,  including  Nine  Mile  River,  the  upper  part  of  the 
Shubenacadie  and  Gay's  River.  In  describing  it  afterward  he 
said,  "  It  is  little  short  of  sixty  miles  long,  and  the  breadth  has 
never  been  ascertained.  Instead  of  a  congregation  it  might 
with  more  propriety  be  called  a  shire." 

His  ordination  however  did  not  take  place  till  the  following 
year.  On  this  occasion  Doctor  MacGregor  preached  the  ordi- 
nation sermon  and  delivered  the  charge  both  to  the  minister 
and  people,  while  Mr.  Ross  preached  the  evening  sermon.  We 
may  mention  that  in  those  days  an  ordination  was  both  a  novelty 
and  a  matter  of  wide  spread  interest;  and  this,  as  tJie  first  Pres- 
hytcrian  ordination  in  the  Province,  was  a  matter  of  special  in- 
terest to  the  brethren,  and  of  great  delight  to  the  people, 
many  of  whom  were  pious,  and  had  long  sighed  at  the  remem- 
brance of  the  privileges  they  had  enjoyed  in  other  lands,  and 
longed  for  the  time  when  their  eye  should  see  their  teacher. 

After  the  ordination,  the  members  of  Presbytery  beinir  to- 
gether in  the  house  of  3Ir.  Ellis,  the  Doctor  said  to  him,  that  they 
ought  to  be  very  thankful  to  the  Presbytery  for  having  brought 
them  a  good  minister.  "  Oh,"  said  Mr.  E.,  "  we  deserve  a 
good  minister."     "  You  deserve  Hell"  was  the  Doctor's  reply. 

We  should  add  here  that  in  the  year  1800  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Urquhart  came  to  Princetown,  where  he  continued  for  about 
two  years.  He  was  originally  from  the  Established  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  came  by  the  way  of  the  United  States.  He  was 
a  sound  and  interesting  preacher  of  the  doctrines  of  grace, 
but  for  some  circumstances,  of  the  nature  of  which  we  are  ig- 
norant, and  into  which  we  care  not  to  enquire,  he  never  pre- 
sented his  certificates,  so  that  he  was  not  recognized  by  tlie 
Presbytery ;  but  he  relieved  them  for  the  time  from  supplying 
Princetown  and  the  adjacent  settlements. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREaOR,   D.D.  331 


CHAPTER    XVI 

FROM   THE   ARRIVAL  OF  MR.   DICK,  TO    THE   ARRIVAL  OF  MR. 
GORDON.— 1803-1806. 

"And  they  went  forth  and  preached  every  where, — the  Lord  working  with 
them,  and  confirming  the  word  with  signs  following." — Mark  xvi.  20. 

During  the  year  1803  the  Presbj'tery  received  another  ac- 
cession to  their  number  in  the  person  of  one  whose  name  was 
afterward  to  be  a  prominent  one  in  this  Province;  we  allude  to 
the  late  Doctor  MacCulloch.  In  the  expectation  of  his  arrival  the 
Presbytery  had  appointed  him  to  Prince  Edward  Island,  but 
it  was  so  late  in  the  season  when  he  arrived,  that  it  was  deemed 
imprudent  to  proceed  thither  that  autumn,  or  he  was  unable  to 
do  so.  He  was  engaged  to  supply  the  congregation  of  the  Har- 
bour of  Pictou,  till  spring.  But  before  winter  was  over  the 
people  there  gave  him  a  call,  which  being  accepted,  he  was  in- 
ducted as  their  minister,  on  the  6th  of  June,  1804.  This 
settlement  relieved  the  ministers  of  Pictou  of  part  of  their  home 
labours,  but  left  the  destitute  localities  to  which  they  had  been 
giving  missionary  supply  in  the  same  position  as  before. 

During  the  years  1802-'3-'4,  part  of  his  time  was  as  usual 
devoted  to  missionary  excursions.  In  the  year  1802  it  appears 
from  the  minutes  of  Presbytery,  that  he  was  appointed  for  three 
Sabbaths  to  Douglas.  In  the  year  1803,  he  mentions  in  his 
narrative,  hereafter  to  be  given,  that  it  was  on  his  return  from 
a  missionary  excursion  that  he  found  a  vessel  at  the  beeches,* 
with  Doctor  MacCulloch  on  board.  Where  he  had  been  on  this 
*  At  the  entrance  of  Pictou  Harbour. 


332  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

occasion  yve  are  uncertain.  In  the  3'ear  1802,  and  again  in 
1804,  he  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Prince  Edward  Island;  on 
the  former  occasion  for  three  Sabbaths,  and  on  the  latter  for 
five  These  visits  are  so  blended  with  a  number  in  subsequent 
years,  and  with  the  visits  of  other  ministers,  in  the  recollection 
of  those  who  enjoyed  them,  that  we  cannot  give  an  exact  ac- 
count of  each ;  but  we  may  mention  the  general  course  of  his 
visits,  and  record  such  incidents  as  we  have  been  able  to  glean 
regarding  them.  Sometimes  he  obtained  a  passage  to  Ecdcque, 
and  proceeded  from  the  west  to  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Island, 
and  sometimes  he  obtained  a  passage  to  Charlotte  Town  ;  but, 
perhaps,  more  frequently  he  was  landed  at  the  eastern  part  of 
the  Island,  principally  at  George  Town.  From  this  place  he 
travelled  by  Bay  Fortune  to  St.  Peters,  thence  to  Cove  Head, 
Cavendish,  Princetown,  Bedcque,  sometimes  as  far  as  Lot  16, 
on  the  western  side  of  Richmond  Bay.  Sometimes  he  got  a 
passage  home  from  Bedeque,  but  frequently  he  returned  by  the 
eastern  part  of  the  Island,  visiting,  on  his  route,  such  places  as 
Tryon,  West  River,  Charlotte  Town,  and  Wood  Islands,  now 
called  Woodville.  The  people  of  the  latter  place  on  several 
occasions  took  him  home  in  a  boat. 

On  these  visits  his  mode  of  procedure  was  as  we  have  des- 
cribed it  in  Chapter  XL  The  following  additional  incidents  may 
throw  some  additional  light  on  his  labours.  On  one  occasion, 
at  Princetown,  he  found  a  man  and  his  wife  who  were  not  living 
in  great  harmony,  and  who  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  reason  was  that  they  had  been  married  by  a  magistrate. 
They  applied  to  him  to  marry  them  over  again.  He  made  them 
stand  up  before  him  on  the  floor,  and  gave  them  an  address  on 
their  duties;  concluding  by  saying  that  he  hoped  they  would 
now  live  peaceably  together,  that  he  had  now  married  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  he  believed  that  before 
they  had  been  married  in  the  name  of  the  Devil.  It  is  stated 
that  they  lived  happily  together  during  the  remainder  of  their 
lives. 

Many  of  the  people  were  very  ignorant  in  religious  things. 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  338 

One  man  with  whom  he  was  conversinp;,  could  not  be  persuaded 
that  he  had  a  bad  heart,  or  that  he  was  at  all  such  a  character 
as  the  Doctor  was  accustomed  to  describe  men  in  their  natural 
state.  In  the  course  of  reasooing  with  him  the  Doctor  said, 
*'  Have  you  never  told  lies  ?"  "  May-be  I  have,  sometimes." 
"  Then  you  are  a  child  of  the  Devil.  He  is  the  father  of  all 
liars."  The  man  became  very  indignant,  and  afterward  would 
scarcely  go  to  hear  him  preach.  On  another  occasion  in  the 
course  of  a  sermon,  speaking  of  divine  truth  as  a  closely  con- 
nected system,  he  said  that  it  was  like  a  chain,  if  one  of  its 
links  were  broken  it  would  be  useless.  One  of  his  hearers  said 
afterward,  that  that  was  not  true,  as  the  two  parts  might  after- 
ward be  united. 

On  one  visit,  preaching  at  St.  Peters  in  a  private  house,  a 
woman,  who  had  a  child  that  was  troublesome,  put  her  liaiid 
up  to  the  mantel-piece,  feeling  for  something  to  amuse  it,  but 
brought  down  a  pack  of  cards,  scattering  over  the  floor.  The 
woman  commenced  picking  them  all  up  and  putting  them  in 
the  fire,  while  he  went  on  with  the  sermon,  without  saying  a 
single  word  on  the  subject,  or  giving  any  indication  that  he  had 
noticed  what  transpired. 

On  another  visit  to  St.  Peters,  a  daughter  of  his  host,  Mr.  Mac- 
Ewan,  was  married,  and  in  deference  to  him  there  was  no  dan- 
cing. He  remarked  that  "such  were  the  weddings  he  liked 
best, — in  which  he  was  piper  himself."  We  do  not  mean  by  this 
to  have  it  appear  that  he  frowned  upon  amusement  on  such  oc- 
casions. We  refer  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  noticing  the  fact, 
that  at  that  time  marriages  were  most  commonly  celebrated  by 
magistrates,  who  received  authority  from  the  Government  for 
that  purpose.  From  there  being  so  few  ministers  in  the  country 
at  that  time,  some  such  arrangement  was  necessary.  The  early 
Presbyterian  ministers  generally  performed  the  service  in  their 
own  congregations  after  proclamation  of  the  banns  on  three  suc- 
cessive Sabbaths,  according  to  Scottish  practice. 

The  following  remarkable  incident  1  have  lieard  from  more 
than  one  person  who  had  it  from   the  Doctor's  own  lips.     It 


834  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

probably  occurred  on  one  of  tliPse  trips.  He  was  staying  at 
the  house  of"  Mr.  William  Doujrlass,  St.  Peters,  then,  or  af- 
terward ail  Elder.  When  the  family  on  Saturday  night  or 
Sabbath  morninir,  were  a.^semhled  for  family  wor.^hip,  he  asked 
if  all  about  tlie  house  were  present.  The  reply  was,  all  except 
au  Englishman,  who  did  not  care  for  the  service.  "Oh,"  said 
the  Doctor,  "  bring  him  in,  he  has  a  soul  to  be  saved."  When 
worship  was  over,  the  Doctor  entered  into  conversation,  and 
found  him  to  have  been  a  man-of-war  sailor.  Having  heard 
from  what  part  of  Eogland  the  nian  was  from,  the  Doctor  asked 
if  they  had  any  good  ministers  there?  He  replied,  "  We  had 
a  Mr.  Romaine,  where  I  lived."  "Indeed,"  said  the  Doctor,  "did 
you  know  Mr.  Romaine?"  "  Yes,  my  father  was  a  member  of 
the  church.  Did  t/rni  know  him  ?"  the  man  asked  in  return. 
"  No,"  .said  the  Doctor,  "  but  I  know  his  writings.  Have  you 
any  of  them  ?"  "  Yes,  I  have  one  that  my  father  put  in  my 
trunk,  when  I  first  went  to  sea."  On  the  Doctor  asking  to  see 
it,  the  man  brought  it  forth.  It  was  one  of  Romaine's  works 
on  faith.  A  conversation  then  ensued,  to  the  following  eifect, 
"  I  think  that  you  have  been  well  brought  up."  "  Yes,"  said 
the  man,  "  niy  father  was  a  good  man  and  taught  me  well." 
"I  am  afraid,"  said  the  Doctor,  "that  you  have  not  profited 
much  by  your  early  instruction."  The  man  assented.  "  Go- 
ing on  board  a  man-of-war  did  not  do  you  much  good  ?"  The 
man  confessed  with  shame,  how  irregular  had  been  his  life  there. 
"  And  is  it  not  time  that  you  were  beginning  to  think  seriously 
about  your  past  life  and  a  future  world  ?"  The  man  professed 
humbly  to  feel  that  it  was  so.  "  Then  come  and  hear  me  preach, 
and  see  if  I  preach  like  Mr.  Romaine."  The  man  did  so.  On 
returning,  the  Doctor  asked,  "Do  I  preach  like  Mr.  Romaine?" 
"  Yes,"  replied  the  man,  "  you  do.  I  have  heard  from  you  to 
day  some  of  the  same  things  that  I  used  to  hear  from  Mr.  Ro- 
maine "  The  Doctor  continued  to  ply  him  with  warning,  in- 
struction, and  encouragement,  and  the  result  was  that  he  be- 
came a  sincerely  pious  man,  and  an  active  and  useful  member 
of  the  church.     When  the  late  Rev.  Peter  Gordon  was  settled 


REV.    JAMES   MACOREGOR,    D.D.  335 

in  St.  Peters  he  became  an  Elder,  and  Mr.  Gordon  stated  to  a 
minister  on  a  visit  to  that  quarter,  that  he  was  the  most  active 
in  the  eonffre^ation. 

We  cannot  forbear  some  reflections  upon  this  incident.  How 
remarkably  does  God  in  his  Pruvidence  order  events  for  bring- 
ing; his  chosen  into  his  fold  !  How  strange  that  an  individual 
should  be  spared  through  a  life  of  sin,  amid  battle  and  ship- 
wreck, and  his  steps  guided  to  meet  in  what  then  might  be 
called  our  western  wilderness,  far  from  the  land  of  his  birth, 
the  travelling  missionary,  who  should  be  honoured  of  God  to 
lead  him  in  the  way  of  peace  !  This  incident  also  shows  the 
propriety  of  ministers  embracing  the  opportunities  which  may 
be  afforded  them,  in  the  private  intercourse  of  life,  to  deal  faith- 
fully with  individuals  regarding  their  great  concern.  It  warns 
us  also  against  despising  any  man.  "  Honour  all  men,"  is  the 
injunction  of  Scripture,  and  there  is  no  man  beneath  the  no- 
tice of  the  minister  of  religion,  "  He  has  a  soul  to  be  saved," 
a  frequent  remark  of  Doctor  MacGregor's,  conveys  a  truth  of 
solemn  and  awful  importance.  Some  of  those  whom  we  may 
lightly  esteem,  may  be  "  chosen  vessels  unto  him."  We  also 
see  the  benefit  of  early  parental  training.  The  seed  of  divine 
truth  early  sown  in  the  young  heart  may  long  lie  dormant,  and 
may  seem  to  have  perished  for  ever;  yet  favouring  circum- 
stances in  the  Providence  of  God  may,  through  the  influence 
of  the  Divine  Spirit,  cause  it  yet  to  germinate  and  to  bear  fruit 
unto  life  eternal.  We  know  not  the  circumstances  in  which  it 
may  appear.  Little  did  the  parents  of  the  last  individual, 
when  they  saw  their  son  enter  the  navy  and  pursue  a  course  of 
sin,  imagine  that  the  good  seed  which  they  had  sown  should 
spring  up  in  what  was  then  the  wilds  of  Prince  Edward  Island. 
How  strikingly  does  this  illustrate  the  divine  saying,  "  Cast 
thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many 
days  !" 

We  shall  insert  here  one  or  two  letters,  which  belong  to  this 
period  : 


336  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

LETTER  TO  WILLIAM  YOUNG,  PHILADELPHIA. 

Dear  Sir  : — It  is  about  two  years  since  I  had  your  letter  with  Mr.  Gib's 
Appendix.  I  can  assure  you  your  letter  gave  me  the  sinccrest  ])le;isure. 
The  kindness  of  Providence  to  you  in  giving  you  such  a  portion  of  the 
good  tilings  of  this  life,  as  to  enable  you  to  give  such  education  to  your 
children,  and  especially  in  giving  you  children  on  which  the  means  of  edu- 
cation are  so  well  bestowed,  should  be  remembered  with  tlic  most  lively 
gratitude.  What  a  mercy  to  have  children  that  grow  in  undert^tanding  as 
in  3'ears,  and  are  a  pleasure  instead  of  a  cross  to  tlieir  parents  !  God  lias 
also  visited  you  with  trouble  and  death.  I  hope  you  see  his  kindness  in 
tills  as  well  as  the  other.  The  best  of  us  would  forget  God  in  uninter- 
rupted prosperity.  In  mercy  he  puts  bitter  things  into  our  cup.  But, 
alis  !  how  often  do  we  misconstrue  his  kindness. 

I  have  got  a  wife  and  three  children,  a  girl  and  two  boys.  The  girl  is 
only  learning  to  read,  and  the  oldest  boy  his  letters.  I  have  now  the  hap. 
piness  to  inform  you  that  I  have  got  three  fellow  labourers  in  the  work  of 
the  ministry  in  this  wilderness.  I  was  nine  years  in  tliis  country  without 
ever  seeing  a  minister  or  preacher  belonging  to  the  Synod.  Judge  what 
a  pleasure  1  now  enjoy  in  having  so  many  companions.  They  are  all,  I 
hope,  men  of  piety  and  zeal,  and  willing  to  be  partakers  of  the  afflictions 
of  the  gospel.  The  inconveniences  of  ministers  are  considerably  great 
here  on  account  of  llie  uncultivated  st;ite  of  tlie  country,  and  the  thinness 
of  population,  which  makes  the  congregations  very  exfensive.  We  have 
also  the  agreeable  expect;!tion  of  one  or  two  more  ministers  tliis  fall,  which 
will  be  a  farther  strcngtliening  of  our  hands.  As  to  the  success  of  tlie 
gospel  among  us,  I  cannot  say  much,  only  we  do  not  labour  in  vain.  We 
have  chiefly  to  contend  with  Arniinians,  tliat  is,  Methodists.  There  are  a 
few  Universalists  among  us,  occasioned  by  one  or  two  copies  of  Winches- 
ter  on  the  Universal  Restoration,  and  Scarlett's  New  Testament.  I  hear 
there  is  an  Emmons  wlio  has  written  against  the  Universalists,  I  believe 
you  could  get  it  in  Philadelphia,  and  I  would  esteem  it  a  great  favour  if 
you  would  be  kind  enough  to  send  it  to  me,  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Daniel 
Eraser,  Merchant,  Halifax.  We  lie  under  great  difficulties  in  getting  books 
here,  as  our  commerce  with  the  States  is  restrained,  and  the  people  in 
general  have  but  little  taste  for  books.  I  shall  hope  for  a  line  upon  your 
receipt  of  this,  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  how  you  are  prospering  in 
soul  and  body,  as  also  to  answer  any  questions  concerning  this  part  of  the 
world  as  far  as  my  information  extends. 

I  am,  Dpar  Sir,  Yours,  &c., 

James  MacGregor. 

PicTou,  August  l\th,  1803. 

P.  S.  I  had  almost  forgot  a  principal  design  of  this  letter.  There  is 
a  report  here  that  Tom  Paine  is  converted,  is  a  Presbyterian,  keeps  wor- 
ship twice  a  day,  and  lives  a  sober  life.  It  is  said  that  this  is  published  in 
the  American  papers.  If  it  be  true,  you  must  know  it.  Pray,  fail  not  to 
communicate  the  agreeable  news,  if  true.     It  will  give  pleasure  to  many. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  337 

To  an  aunt  of  his  wife,  residing  at  Inverness,  ■without  date, 
but  written  either  in  1805  or  the  beirinnino;  of  180G  : 


Dear  Madam  : — Though  I  did  not  write  to  you  last  year,  yet  your 
letter  of  the  12th  of  Jul^',  1804,  I  received  in  due  time.  In  that  letter 
you  have  great  complaints  of  your  want  of  submission  to  God's  dispcnsa- 
tioiis,  and  of  the  deceivings  of  your  heart.  Very  likely  the  same  com- 
plaint still  continues,  and  I  suspect  it  will  continue  all  your  life.  It  would 
be  a  very  strange  thing  to  see  a  Christian  in  this  world  that  had  no  re- 
mains of  sin  or  corrupt  nature  to  complain  of;  but  I  think  it  would  be  far 
stranger  to  see  a  Christian  in  this  world,  whose  grace  lived  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  his  corrupt  nature,  so  as  to  have  no  complaint  of  it.  No;  we 
arc  not  to  get  quit  of  sin  nor  yet  to  agree  with  it,  while  we  have  breath. 
But  we  must  live  and  die  warring  against  it,  against  ourselves,  for  it  is  our. 
selves.  We  must  take  no  rest,  for  every  minute's  rest  on  our  part  is  so 
much  victory  to  the  enemy.  Though  we  are  sure  of  the  victory  at  last, 
we  must  not  expect  it  complete  till  death.  Roniaine's  Walk  of  Faith 
(Line  obliterated)  *  *  *  * 

I  had  lately  a  letter  from  James  Forbes,  and  it  is  the  only  letter  I  had 
from  him  since  his  arrival  in  Demerara,  It  is  very  seldom  there  is  an 
opportunity  for  letters  between  here  and  there.  He  says  he  had  a  good 
deal  of  sickness  there  at  first,  but  that  now  he  enjoys  good  health.  My 
sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Fraser,  had  a  letter  from  Hannah  Heywood.  She  says 
the  family  is  in  Demerara  and  is  well,  but  Mr.  Heywood  himself  is  at  St. 
Kitts.  What  a  great  burden  and  trouble  are  riches  !  They  will  not  let  a 
man  live  with  his  wife  and  family.  It  is  very  seldom  that  a  poor  cottar- 
man  is  deprived,  by  his  poverty,  of  the  comfort  of  living  at  home  with  his 
wife  and  children.  He  however  is  not  without  his  trials.  "  Lord,  give  me 
neither  poverty  nor  riches,  feed  me  with  food  convenient  for  mc."  Han- 
nah's letter  says,  that  James  Forbes  intends  to  return  home  after  a  year 
or  two  with  a  small  fortune.  A  vain  intention  indeed !  How  many  have 
made  the  same  resolution,  but  could  never  put  it  in  execution  !  Every 
man  promises  to  be  cpntent  with  a  little  fortune  while  he  has  it  not,  but  as 
soon  as  he  gets  it,  it  is  nothing,  and  it  requires  more  to  make  a  little  for- 
tune, till  old  age  or  death  comes.  Besides  how  many  drop  off  especially 
in  the  unhealthy  climate  of  Demerara,  and  the  West  Indies,  before  a  year 
or  two  run  their  round  !  Alas  !  lew  have  the  wisdom  to  know^  they  have 
enough.     Fortune  hunters  are  among  the  ciiief  of  fools. 

I  have  not  much  news  to  tell  you  from  this  place.  We  are  all  in  health. 
Mr.  Fraser  and  sister-in-law  Catherine  left  Halifax  and  came  to  Pictou 
this  lust  summer.  There  is  none  of  us  at  all  in  Halifax  now.  But  though 
we  are  all  in  Pictou  we  do  not  live  all  close  together,  for  Pictou  is  bigger 
than  some  shires  in  Scotland.  Fatlicr-in-law  and  I  live  close  together- 
John,  my  brother-in-law,  and  Mr.  Fraser  live  close  together,  where  there 
is  something  of  a  town,  and  which  is  increasing  fast,  about  nine  miles 
distant  from  my  house  to  the  north.  Mr.  Graham  and  your  sister  Betsey  live 
29 


338  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

abnnt  a  mile  and  a  half  or  two  miles  soutli-cast  from  John's  and  Mrs.  Fra- 
ser's.  We  all  live  by  the  water  side,  and  boats  are  going  always  backward 
and  forwards,  so  that  we  can  easily  go  and  see  one  another;  j'ct  when  we 
have  no  partieular  business,  we  arc  oftentimes  a  long  while  without  see- 
ing one  another.  To  give  you  sonic  idea  of  our  situation,  fulher-in-law 
and  1  live  at  the  head  of  the  tide,  eight  miles  up  a  river  wl.ic!)  rui  s  north 
somewhat  like  as  if  we  lived  eight  miles  up  the  Ness.  John  and  Mr. 
Fraser  are  as  if  they  were  on  (the  north)  side  of  the  frith  at  tlie  Ferry  of 
Kessoch,  and  Mr.  Graham  as  if  he  were  a  piece  east  from  Inverness  along 
the  shore.  We  arc  all  in  comfortable  circumstances  each  upon  liis  own 
(property).  But  death  will  be  here  by  and  by,  and  remove  us  from  our 
dwellings.  And  we  know  not  which  of  us  will  get  the  summons  first.  I 
fear  that  some  of  us,  instead  of  preparing  for  deatli,  are  striking  their  roots 
deeper  and  deeper  in  this  earth,  as  if  there  were  never  to  be  a  removal. 
Tliis  is  a  great  evil.  What  a  terrible  amazement  will  Death,  Judgment, 
and  Eternity  bring  upon  such  !  To  be  pluckt  in  a  moment  from  every 
thing  the  heart  is  set  upon,  to  undergo  pure  and  unmixed  wrath,  for  ever 
and  ever.  Lord  Jesus,  may  we  be  found  in  thee,  and  in  thy  righteousness, 
and  we  sliall  be  safe. 

I  remain.  Dear  Madam,  Yours,  &;c., 

James  MacGregou. 

Havins;  now  to  describe  a  journey  through  a  large  portion  of 
the  Province  of  New  Brunswick,  one  quarter  of  which  lie  had  for- 
merly visited,  and  other  sections  of  which  he  afterward  trav- 
ersed, we  may  here  give  a  brief  account  of  the  colony. 

This  Province  lies  between  Nova  Scotia  and  Lower  Canada, 
having  the  State  of  Maine  on  the  one  side  and  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  on  the  other.  It  forms  a  kind  of  irregular  squnrc, 
lying  between  45°  5'  and  48°  4'  north  latitude,  and  embraces 
an  area  of  over  26,000  square  miles,  or  about  17,000,000  acres. 
It  is  not  so  much  indented  by  deep  bays  as  Nova  Scotia,  and  it 
therefore  is  not  so  entirely  maritime.  But  its  coast  is  e.N ten- 
sive, and  is  well  adapted  both  for  commerce  and  fisheries.  But 
it  is  particularly  distinguished  by  its  noble  rivers.  Of  these 
the  principal  is  the  St.  John,  which  rises  far  beyond  the  boun- 
dary of  the  Province.  For  eighty-five  miles  up  it  can  be  used 
by  vessels  of  fifty  tons,  thence  small  vessels  of  twenty  tons  can 
ascend  to  the  Grand  Palls,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
higher,  above  which  it  is  only  fitted  for  boats.  Next  in  im- 
portance is  the  31iraniichi,  to  Avhich  we  have  formerly  referred. 


REV.    JAMES    MAClillEGOR,    D.I).  339 

The  soil  in  most  parts  of  the  Province  is  of  the  highest  degree 
of  fertility. 

Till  the  year  1784  New  Brunswick  formed  part  of  the  Go- 
vernment of  Nova  Scotia.  The  French  had  settled  various 
places  during  their  occupancy  of  the  country,  but  the  first 
British  settlement  was  made  in  the  year  1762,  by  a  number  cif 
families  from  Massachusetts,  who  obtained  a  large  grant  of  land 
on  the  St.  John  River,  in  what  is  now  the  county  of  Sunbury. 
It  was,  we  believe,  to  visit  a  portion  of  these  people  that  he 
took  his  present  journey.  The  Province,  however,  made  but 
little  progress  till  the  year  1784,  when  a  large  number  of  loyal- 
ists arrived,  who  laid  the  foundations  of  its  j^rosperity.  These 
were  such  as  we  have  described  them  in  Nova  Scotia,  some  of 
them  disbanded  soldiers,  whose  habits  rendered  them  ill  adapted 
to  contend  with  the  difficulties  of  a  settlement  in  a  new  coun- 
try.    But  others  were  sober,  industrious,  and  enterprising. 

In  the  year  1805,  in  answer  to  a  petition  from  Sheffield  in 
New  Brunswick,  he  performed  one  of  his  longest  and  most  in- 
teresting missionary  journeys,  viz.,  up  the  St.  John  River  in 
that  Province.  We  have  the  last  part  of  his  own  account  of  it 
preserved,  though  he  sets  it  down  for  the  year  1803.  We 
shall  supply  such  information  as  we  have  been  able  to  gather 
regarding  the  first  part  of  it.  He  travelled  on  horseback, 
taking  his  own  horse,  which  membei's  of  his  family  recollect  as 
a  very  sagacious  animal — one  particularly  that  would  follow  a 
track  with  great  sagacity,  or  a  road  that  it  had  once  travelled. 
His  coui-se  led  him  by  Amherst  where  he  lodged  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Mitchell,  then  labouring  there,  from  whom  he  received 
direction  as  to  his  route.  The  next  day  he  started  for  the  Bend 
of  Peticodiac.  Here  he  met  with  an  incident,  which  he  used 
afterward  to  relate  as  an  example  of  the  power  of  prayer.  In 
the  afternoon  having  got  off  his  horse  for  some  purpose,  when 
he  was  ready  to  mount  he  could  not  find  the  animal.  He  looked 
about  but  could  see  no  sitrn  of  him.  The  road  beinjr  through 
the  woods  and  covered  with  moss  or  leaves,  it  left  no  track. 
He  concluded  that  it  must  have   gone  on.     He   therefore   pro- 


340  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

ceeded  on  a  distance,  as  he  judged,  of  a  mile  and  a  half,  till  he 
came  to  a  wet  place  where  the  horse  if  he  had  passed  must  have 
left  a  track.  There  being  none  he  turned  and  walked  back  to 
the  place  where  he  had  lost  him,  and  still  could  discover  no 
trace  of  the  animal.  He  was  now  reduced  to  extremity — at  a 
distance  from  a  house,  his  horse  in  all  likelihood  lost  in  the 
woods,  and  darkness  was  coming  on.  He  used  to  relate  his 
thoughts  at  the  moment.  He  had  left  home  rather  against  the 
wishes  of  the  Session,  and  he  began  to  think  that  Providence 
was  frowning  upon  his  undertaking ;  but  then  again  be  con- 
cluded that  it  was  occasioned  by  his  old  enemy,  that  Satan  was 
playing  him  this  trick  to  hinder  him.  In  his  extremity,  all 
other  means  failing,  he  resorted  to  prayer.  Kneeling  down  he 
besought  his  heavenly  Father  to  relieve  him  from  his  difficulty. 
When  lie  opened  his  eyes  at  the  conclusion  of  his  prayer  the  horse 
was  in  sight. 

Shortly  after,  he  had  a  remarkable  preservation  of  his  life. 
It  having  grown  very  dark  he  had  to  allow  the  animal  to  take 
his  own  course.  In  a  little  he  saw  a  glimmering  appearance  at 
one  side  of  him,  which  he  could  not  understand,  but  he  al- 
lowed his  horse  to  keep  on  his  way.  In  a  short  time  he  reached 
a  house ;  but  what  was  his  surprise  to  discover  afterward  that 
the  horse  had  walked  along  steadily  on  the  top  of  a  mill-dam, 
v^here  a  false  step  on  one  side  would  have  plunged  him  into 
the  water,  or  on  the  other,  have  given  a  most  dangerous  if  not 
fatal  fall ! 

When  he  reached  the  Kennebeckasis  he  met  with  an  inci- 
dent somewhat  remarkable.  To  the  perils  of  various  kinds  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected  during  his  ministerial  life,  there 
were  now  to  be  added  "  perils  of  robbers."  There  resided  an 
Irishman  here,  but  by  Mr.  Mitchell  he  had  been  dissuaded  from 
staying  there,  but  recommended  to  go  some  miles  farther  on  to 
the  house  of  a  Scotchman.  It  had  got  so  late,  however,  that  he 
felt  it  necessary  to  stay  at  the  house  of  the  former.  He  was 
put  to  sleep  in  a  kind  of  out-building,  attached  to  the  main  one. 
He  lay  down,  and  fell  asleep,  but  he  could  scarcely  have  been 


KEV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  341 

lofif:  asleep  when  something  causing  him  to  start  up,  to  his  sur- 
prise lie  found  a  man  in  the  room  with  him.  The  hitter  by  way 
of  apolo^'y  said  that  he  was  afraid  that  he  (  the  Doctor)  would 
be  afraid  to  be  alone.  "  I  am  not  alone,  my  blaster  is  witii  mc." 
The  man  went  out,  but  the  Doctor  did  not  sleep  much  for  the 
rest  t)f  tlie  night.  When  it  was  day,  he  mounted  his  horse  and 
rode  (iff.  As  he  came  to  the  house  of  the  Scotchman  he 
met  the  latter  at  his  gate.  After  exchanging  salutations  and 
milking  himself  known,  the  latter  enquired,  "  Where  were  you 
last  night?"  ''  At ,"  replied  the  Doctor,  naming  the  Irish- 
man. "  Well,  the  straps  of  your  saddle-bags  are  cut,  and  it  is 
a  mercy  it  was  not  your  throat."  It  was,  no  doubt,  the  inten- 
tion of  the  man  to  have  robbed  his  saddle-bags,  and  he  had 
commenced  cutting  into  them,  when  he  was  interrupted  by  the 
Doctor's  starting  from  liis  sleep.  The  mark  of  his  knife  was 
seen  upon  the  heels  of  the  Doctor's  boot,  which  was  stowed  in 
the  saddle-bags.  Probably  he  had  been  seized  with  some  sud- 
den fear,  and  did  not  return  to  complete  his  work. 

After  leaving  the  Kennebeckasis,  he  had  to  go  a  long  dis- 
tance through  the  woods,  where  the  road  was  a  mere  path,  and 
it  at  length  got  so  dark  that  he  could  see  nothing  indicative  of 
a  road,  but  an  opening  in  the  woods  between  the  tops  of  the 
trees.  Coming  upon  a  house  he  staid  to  enquire  the  way.  The 
man  of  the  house  was  from  home,  and  his  wife  was  not  very 
willing  to  admit  him.  He  used  to  relate  with  great  zest  the 
colloquy  that  ensued,  something  to  the  following  effect : 

Wu7nan.  "  Who  are  you  ?" 

Doctor.  "  I  am  James  MacGregor,  a  minister  from  Pictou." 

Woman.  "  Are  you  a  Methodist?" 

Doctor.  "  No." 

Woman.  "  Are  you  Church  of  England  ?" 

Doctor.  ''  No." 

Woman.  "  Then  you  must  be  a  New  Light?" 

Doctor.  "  No,  I  am  not  a  New  Light,  either. 

Woman.  "  Then   what  in  all  the  world  are  you,  for  I  do  not 
know  any  more  ?" 
29* 


842  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

Doctor.  "I  am  a  Presbyterian." 

^Y()man.  "  Well,  I  never  saw  a  Presbyterian  minister  before, 
but  my  mother  used  to  tell  mc  that  they  were  the  very  best  in 
the  world.     But  what  do  you  hold  to  ?" 

Doctor.  "  I  do  not  understand  what  you  mean." 
Woman.  "  Do  you  hold  to  conversion  ?" 
Doctor.  "Don't  they  all  hold  to  conversion  ?" 
Woman.  "  Now,  the   Methodists  and   New  Lights  hold  to  it, 
but  the  Church  of  England  hold  against  it." 

Having  thus  got  all  her  enquiries  satisfactorily  answered,  she 
treated  him  very  kindly,  giving  hira  all  necessary  directions  re- 
garding bis  way,  and  inviting  him  to  lodge  with  her  on  his 
return. 

The  part  of  his  narrative  preserved,  commences  with  his 
journeying  on  the  following  day. 

"  .  .  .  .  when  I  came  in  sight  of  a  beautiful  lake,  like  one 
of  the  Highland  lakes  which  I  had  seen  at  home.  Like  them, 
it  was  partly  skirted  with  beautiful  woods,  and  partly  with  pas- 
ture and  corn-fields.  This  pretty  lake  was  merely  an  expan. 
sion  of  the  Eiver  St.  John,  but  the  river  was  quite  out  of 
view.  I  lodged  all  night  with  a  farmer  who  lived  in  this  charm- 
ing retreat;  he  was  a  Presbyterian,  but  had  no  minister,  and 
few  of  his  persuasion  near  him.  This  kind  man  invited  me  to 
stay  a  night  with  him  on  my  return  ;  and  on  parting,  directed  me 
that,  after  three  miles  of  a  low  thick  wood,  I  would  come 
in  sight  of  the  river,  which  would  guide  me  all  the  rest  of 
the  way. 

"  I  soon  got  through  this  road,  and  then  I  saw  a  beautiful 
sweep  of  the  noble  River  St.  John,  and  large  tracts  of  clear 
land.  I  soon  came  forward  to  a  fence,  which  directly  crossed 
the  road,  and  I  saw  a  rich  crop  of  hay  within  the  fence.  I 
was  surprised,  for  I  noticed  no  other  road ;  but  I  concluded  that 
my  admiration  of  the  ranjesty  of  the  river  had  prevented  nie 
from  noticing  where  the  road  had  struck  off.  Accordingly  I 
turned  to  the  right,  along  the  side  of  the  fence,  and  rode  along 
a  considerable  way   without  seeing  any  appearance  of  a  road. 


REV.   JAMES   MACQREGOR,   D.D.  343 

At  last  I  met  a  man,  of  whom  I  enquired.  He  told  me  I  had 
left  the  road  behind  nie,  and  was  leaving  it  further  and  farther 
every  step.  I  a.sked  him  if  that  was  it  that  was  stopped  by  a 
fence.  He  replied  that  it  was.  I  asked  him  how  they  c:ime 
to  build  a  fence  across  the  road.  He  said  it  was  to  save  them 
the  trouble  of  a  fence  on  each  side  of  the  road.  '  But  how  are 
travellers  pleased  to  have  the  road  stopped?'  '  The  travellers 
by  land  are  not  many,  for  most  of  the  travelling  is  by  water. 
There  are  boats  often  between  8t.  John  and  Fredericton.' 
When  we  reached  the  road  he  took  down  the  fence-poles,  and 
when  I  crossed  them  put  them  up  again,  and  bade  me  farewell. 
I  could  easily  trace  the  road  through  bay-ground  till  I  passed 
it.  I  had  now  an  excellent  road  along  the  side  of  the  St. 
John's  Kiver,  skirted  with  small  bushes  and  tall  trees,  till  the 
end  of  my  journey.  Every  farmer  had  his  house  on  the  road 
side  farthest  from  the  river,  with  a  broad  and  fertile  intervale 
behind. 

"  Riding  along,  I  came  to  a  man  carrying  two  pails  of  water 
from  the  river,  of  whom  I  asked,  how  far  it  was  to  Squire 
Burpe's  ?  (to  whom  I  had  been  directed).  He  answered,  *  A 
few  miles,'  and  asked  if  I  was  a  minister.  I  said  I  was.  He 
asked  if  I  was  from  Pictou.  I  said,  *  Yes.'  He  said,  *  You 
must  be  the  minister  that  we  sent  for.'  I  said,  *  They  did  send 
for  me.'     *  Well,'  said  he,  '  we   sent  for  you  by  the  desire  of 

Mr.  S ,  and  he  has  since  run  oflF  with  another  man's  wife.' 

'  Mr.  S ,'  said  I,  '  has  done  a  very  evil  thing,  but  his  mis- 
conduct cannot  prevent  the  grace  of  God  from  doing  good  to 
you  and  me.'  'I  do  not  tell  you  of  him  in  the  way  of  reflec- 
tion, but  purely  of  information.' 

"  After  riding  nearly  another  hour  along  this  beautiful  level 
I  reached  Squire  Burpe's  house,  the  end  of  my  journey,  for 
which  it  became  me  to  be  especially  thankful.*  I  was  received 
and  entertained  kindly  by  the  squire  and  his  whole  family,  all 
the  time  T  continued  there,  I  directed  him  to  spread  word 
that  I  had  come.     He  told  me  he  had  done  so.     He  informed 

•  This  was  at  ShefiBeld. 


344  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

me  they  were  a  colony  from  New  Enjjland,  and  that,  of  course, 
they  were  Coni:regationulists  in  their  religious  profession.  I 
told  him  I  h>id  long  wished  to  see  one  of  their  congregations, 
and  hoped  that  their  congregation  would  be  a  fair  sample  of  a 
New  England  Church.  He  said,  *  I  am  afraid  that  we  are  de- 
generated.' *I  have  heard  much  of  the  piety  and  suflferings  of 
the  New  Englanders,  and  I  will  count  myself  paid  for  my  trou- 
blesome journey,  in  seeing  a  fair  sample  of  their  religion,' 
'  And  I  am  as  anxious  to  hear  a  Presbyterian,  for  I  have  read 
of  the  persecutions  they  have  suffered.  Tlie  doctrines  of  grace 
and  salvation  are  the  same  everywhere,  and  in  all  generations, 
though  every  one  has  his  own  way  of  handling  them.' 

"  I  preached  two  Sabbaths  to  them  in  a  respectable  place  of 
worship,  and  to  Methodists  and  Baptists.  They  heard  with 
apparent  attention  and  satisfaction.  Many  of  them  stayed  and 
conversed  a  good  while  after  public  worship  was  over.  On  re- 
turriing  to  Mr.  Burpe's  I  saw  a  woman,  who  said  she  came  from 
Perthshire  many  years  ago,  and  had  never  heard  a  Presbyterian 
sermon  since  she  came,  till  that  day.  She  hoped  I  would  be 
so  good  as  preach  her  a  sermon  or  two  at  her  house  on  a  week- 
day. I  said  I  certainly  would  be  very  happy  to  do  so.  We 
agreed  on  the  day,  and  she  promised  to  send  a  man  and  a  horse 
for  me.  At  Squire  Burpe's  we  employed  the  time  in  reli- 
gious conversation,  partly  on  the  sermons,  and  partly  on  other 
topics. 

''  On  IMonday  I  visited  some  of  the  neighbouring  families, 
and  the  river,  a  delightful  and  grand  object.  Though  it  was 
very  low,  not  reaching  half-way  up  its  banks,  yet  to  me  it  ap- 
peared extremely  large  and  grand.  I  was  told  that  in  the  time 
of  the  spring  freshets  it  overflows  all  its  banks,  and  covers  that 
whole  intervale,  two  miles  broad,  in  some  places  two  or  three 
feet  deep.  During  that  time  every  house  and  barn  is  an  island; 
the  potatoes,  and  other  things  that  may  be  injured  by  water, 
niu<'t  be  carried  up  to  the  garret.  Every  house  has  a  canoe  for 
sailing  into  the  barn  or  Viyre,  or  neighbour's  house.  The  fence- 
poles  on  the  lowest  grounds  are  collected  into  heaps  and  laid  in 


REV.    JAJIES    MACGREGOU,    D.D.  345 

a  safe  place.  But  sonictitucs  the  freshet  rises  higher  than  ex- 
pectation, and  carries  off  the  fences  that  were  thought  free  of 
danjzer.  Then  the  farmers  are  seen  in  their  canoes,  and  their 
servants  up  to  their  breasts,  going  after  their  fence-poles;  and 
soiiietiiues  they  lose  them  after  all. 

"I  was  informed  that  the  use  of  the  beautiful  row  of  trees 
along  the  river-side  was  to  prevent  the  ice  from  spreading  over 
the  intervale  and  destroying  houses,  cattle,  &c.*  When  the 
spring  melts  the  snow  everywhere,  the  streams  and  little  brooks 
break  their  ice  and  carry  it  before  them  to  larger  brooks  and 
smaller  rivers  which  carry  it  forward  with  accumulating  force. 
The  resistless  fury  of  a  thousand  streams,  and  the  ice  carried 
with  them,  drive  before  them  the  ice  of  the  great  river  itself,  with 
reiterated  and  irresistible  crashes.  This  ice  is  chiefly  carried 
down  the  main  stream  ;  but  some  of  it  would  break  out  here 
and  there  with  incredible  fury  :  but  the  trees  serve  as  a  harrier 
against  it. 

"  Next  day  the  man  came  for  me  to  go  where  I  had  prom- 
ised to  preach.  When  we  reached  the  house,  the  man  and  his 
wife  came  out  to  welcome  me  in.  We  soon  inquired  whence 
each  other  came.  He  told  me  he  came  from  Clocky  Mill,  near 
Gask.  I  was  astonished,  remembering  instantly  that  when  I 
was  a  young  lad  at  Kinkell,  at  the  grammar  school,  I  heard 
much  talk  of  the  miller  of  Clocky  Mill  going  to  America.  I 
told  them  this,  and  at  once  we  became  great  friends.  We  ad- 
mired the  Providence  that  orders  all  our  lots.  I  began  to  think 
that  God  had  other  designs  in  sending  me  here  than  preaching 
to  the  Congregationalists.  I  preached  to  two  or  three  families 
with  uncommon  life  and  earnestne.'^s,  as  my  meeting  with  this 
family  was  unexpected  and  providential. 

*This  mode  of  pbinting  trees  along  the  edges  of  intervale  and  marsh  lands, 
was  first  introduced  into  the  lower  colonies  by  the  French;  and  the  object 
seems  to  have  been  to  preserve  the  soil,  by  retaining  it  by  the  roots,  and  to 
prevent  the  encroacliment  of  the  sea.  The  tree  principally  employed  was  the 
willow,  and  by  them  it  is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  into  Nova  Scotia, 
where  it  is  very  common  in  the  older  settlements. 


346  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

"  Next  morning  I  tonic  a  view  of  liis  farm.  It  was  large, 
and  in  good  onler.  The  land  seemed  gi)od  all  around  the  lake, 
and  almost  wholly  unsettled.  A  bcautil'ul  river  flowed  for  three 
or  four  miles  from  it,  with  scarcely  any  fall,  into  the  St.  John, 
80  that  the  tide  of  the  St.  John  reached  tlie  upper  end  of  the 
luke.  After  breakfast  I  returned  to  Mr.  Burpe's,  reflecting  on 
the  wonderful  disposals  of  Divine  Providence  in  ordering  and 
changing  the  lots  of  men  in  this  world.  Next  day  I  crossed 
the  river,  to  see  one  or  two  families  who  had  invited  me,  and 
one  who  had  promised  to  take  a  jaunt  up  the  river  with  me. 
I  was  informed  of  a  number  of  the  New  England  settlers,  who, 
being  discontented  with  the  fine  intervale,  on  ticcount  of  the 
trouble  and  danger  of  its  freshets,  had  moved  twenty  miles  up 
the  river,  and  settled  there  on  land  hi^h  and  dry,  though  not 
so  rich.*  I  was  requested  to  visit  them,  and  I  was  desirous  to 
go.  I  saw  this  gentleman,  who  was  willing  to  set  off  with 
me  next  Monday.  I  found  him  a  pious  and  agreeable  com- 
panion. 

"  On  Monday  we  went,  and  reached  the  place  that  night.  I 
preached  on  a  week-day  and  on  the  Sabbath,  and  visited  and 
conversed  on  other  days,  pressing  them  to  live  by  faith  on  the 
Son  of  God,  and  obey  by  faith.  They  were  destitute  of  pub- 
lic ordinances,  and  were  plainly  the  poorer  for  it.  The  family 
in  which  I  was  were  remarkably  regular.  There  were  five 
boys  and  five  girls  of  them,  from  marriageable  age  down  to  in- 
fancy; and  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  an  angry  look  or  to 
have  heard  a  cross  word  among  them  during  the  tia,e  I  was 
there.  I  admired  the  regularity  of  the  family.  The  cause  was 
this:  the  father  was  ailinsr,  of  a  slow  consumption,  so  that  he 
could  not  work,  and  he  directed  his  whole  endeavours  to  in- 
structing his  children  in  temporal  and  spiritual  matters.  And, 
to  all  appearance,  God  was  with  him. 

"  Next  Monday  we  came  down  the  river  to  the  Nasliwaak 
opposite  to  Fredericton.  We  went  up  the  Nashwaak  for  the 
Highland  settlement.  On  our  way  we  saw  a  Baptist  church, 
*  Called  the  Kidse. 


RKV.    JAMKS    MACGREaOR,   D.D.  347 

where  my  guide  proposed  to  stop  two  days,  and  give  them  a 
sermon  or  two.  I  could  not  refuse.  Tlie  cotigregation  was 
small,  but  respectable.  When,  I  readied  the  Highlanders,  I 
found  they  were  the  roinains  of  a  llighlan4  regiment  which  the 
British  government  had  settled  there  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
revolutionary  war  in  America.  I  found  they  iiad  been  mi  cru- 
bly  abused  in  their  settlement.  The  officers  got  large  lots  of 
the  best  land;  the  men  got  lots  all  length  and  no  breadth. 
The  consequence  was,  that  one-half  of  the  men  had  to  leave 
their  lands  and  shift  for  themselves  somewhere  else.  The  rest 
took  possession  of  their  lots,  some  of  them  for  something  and 
some  of  them  for  nothing,  and  thus  made  a  shift  to  live.  Their 
dispersion  disabled  them  from  maintaining  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  and  left  them  as  stray  sheep  in  the  wilderness.  A  few 
of  them  had  turned  Baptists  and  Methodists  ;  but  the  best  and 
the  worst  of  them  had  continued  Presbyterians,  but  could  do 
little  to  maintain  the  gospel.  I  preached  to  them,  and  gave 
the  best  direction  I  could  to  live  a  life  of  faith  upon  Christ,  the 
Saviour  of  sinners.  Next  day  I  stopped  at  Fredericton,  but 
had  no  opportunity  of  preaching.  The  day  after  I  returned' to 
my  old  quarters,  where  I  stayed  and  preached  the  Sabbath  fol- 
lowing. 

"  On  Monday  I  set  off  on  my  return  home,  and  that  night 
slept  at  the  house  at  the  lake,  where  I  was  treated  so  kindly  be- 
fore. In  passing  the  few  miles  of  wood  from  the  river  to  this 
house,  it  was  so  dark  that  I  had  to  trust  the  horse  more  than 
myself.  In  the  middle  of  the  wood  he  turned  suddenly  to  the 
left  hand.  I  struck  him  to  turn  him  back,  but  immediately  he 
turned  again.  I  struck  him  again,  but  still  he  turned  to  his 
own  way.  I  was  then  visited  with  a  sudden  fear  that  lie  might 
be  right,  and  that  I  was  putting  him  wrong,  and  so  I  let  him 
take  his  own  way,  and  lie  soon  bi'ought  me  to  the  house.  As 
soon  as  he  was  stabled,  and  I  began  to  chat  with  the  good  man, 
he  told  me  I  was  wrong,  and  the  horse  right,  so  th;it  if  I  had 
not  yielded  we  must  have  been  out  all  night.     In  this  house  I 


348  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

mot  vrith  every  Christian  attention,  and  left  them  in  the  morn- 
ing with  mutual  feelings  of  love  and  kindness. 

"  Next  night  I  reached  the  kdy's  house  who  showed  me  the 
•way  going,  and  who  invited  me  to  lodge  with  her  on  my  re- 
turn. Her  husband  was  at  home,  and  welcomed  me  cordially. 
We  employed  our  time  chiefly  in  religious  conversation,  giving 
and  receiving  mutual  instruction.  Of  books,  they  had  only  a 
Bible  and  a  hymn-book,  with  both  of  which  they  seemed  pretty 
well  acquainted.  We  concluded  with  family  worship  and  re- 
tired for  the  night.  The  house  was  all  kitchen,  and  my  bed 
was  on  the  floor.  The  soil  was  sandy  and  the  fleas  numerous. 
I  could  get  no  rest  or  sleep,  with  their  constant  biting  and 
crawling.  As  soon  as  I  found  all  the  rest  were  asleep,  I  went 
and  shook  them  away  as  clean  as  possible,  and  then  returned 
unseen  to  my  bed.  I  was  soon  as  bad  as  before,  but  made  no 
complaint,  and  remained  as  content  as  I  could,  and  rose  with 
the  rest.  We  spent  this  morning  in  religious  conversation,  and 
after  breakfast  and  family  worship  we  prepared  to  go  to  the 
place  where  I  was  to  preach.  They  came  to  hear  the  first  Pres- 
byterian minister  that  had  come  to  the  place.  I  preached  as 
plainly  and  faithfully  as  I  could  on  these  words,  '  Look  unto  n)e, 
and  be  ye  saved.'  I  conversed  but  little  about  the  sermon  af- 
ter it  was  over,  as  I  needed  to  be  on  my  way  home.  One  of 
the  Highlanders  who  were  at  sermon,  took  me  alung  with  him, 
and  lodged  me  with  much  Christian  feeling.  Next  day  he  rode 
nine  or  ten  miles  along  with  me — that  is,  three  miles  past  the 
house  where  the  strap  of  my  saddle-bags  was  cut — where  we 
parted  most  affectionately.  I  soon  reached  my  kind  friend, 
Mr.  Scott's,  who  prevailed  on  me  to  stay  all  night  with  him. 
He  entertained  me  by  reading  curious  poetical  compositions  of 
his  own.  I  endeavoured  to  make  my  conversation  pleasant  and 
profitable  to  him.  Having  stayed  all  night,  I  set  forward  in  the 
morning.  I  soon  reached  the  place  where  my  horse  before  walked 
so  steadily  on  one  side  of  the  dyke.  He  never  offered  to  try  it 
again.  He  saw  the  path  leading  round  the  dam,  and  took  it  at 
once.      When  we  came  back  to  the  road,  I  alighted,  to  have  a 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  349 

better  view  of  his  foot-steps  along  the  dam  side.  I  could  not 
distinguish  them.  I  travelled  till  I  came  to  Westmoreland, 
where  I  lodged  with  a  Baptist.  He  requested  me  to  preach 
in  their  meeting-house.  I  did  so,  and  reached  home  the  sec- 
ond day. 

"  On  getting  home  I  heard  there  was  a  vessel  at  the  beaches 
and  a  minister  on  hoard.  Next  morning  I  took  a  boat  and 
went  to  see ;  and  there  I  saw  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  MacCullocli.  By- 
aiid-by  his  family  and  baggage  were  brought  ashore,  jNIr.  IMac- 
Culloch  was  intended  for  Prince  Edward  Ifsland;  but  Dawson  * 
saw  among  his  baggage  a  pair  of  globes.  This  occasioned  his 
being  called  to  Pictou,  where  he  still  remains." 

The  llev.  Daniel  MacCurdy  passed  over  the  scene  of  his 
labours,  and  has  informed  me  that  though  this  was  the  only 
visit  he  paid  to  that  part  of  the  country,  his  memory  is  still 
savoury  over  a  considerable  extent  of  country.  The  following 
incidents  were  related  to  me  by  him.  On  one  occasion  he  was 
asked  if  he  could  tell  his  experience,  this  being  with  a  certain 
class  of  religionists  the  sum  and  substance  of  piety.  He  re- 
plied, "  I  have  not  much  to  tell  about  my  experience,  but  I  can 
tell  you  my  faith."  On  one  occasion  having  stopped  to  get  his 
horse  shod,  the  blacksmith  told  him  that  his  wife  was  a  pious 
woman,  and  invited  him  into  the  house,  to  talk  with  her.  In  a 
little  they  were  engaged  in  religious  conversation.  "But  do 
you  hold  to  election  ?"  said  the  woman.  "  Oh  no,  election  holds 
me,"  was  the  reply.  The  same  saying  is  attributed  to  Row- 
land Hill,  and  perhaps  the  Doctor  may  have  got  it  in  that  way. 

The  following  incident  of  this  visit  I  have  had  from  a  reliable 
source.  When  visiting  the  Highlanders  up  the  Nashwaak,  the 
people  collected  about  £7  for  him.  He  received  the  money, 
but  heaving  of  a  poor  widow  who  had  lost  her  only  cow,  he 
gave  it  to  her  to  buy  another. 

It  may  be  mentioned  here,  that  the  Presbytery  made  various 
efforts  to  supply  the  people  whom  he  visited  on  this  occasion, 

*  The  late  John  Dawson,  Esq.,  for  several  years  an   influential  person  in 
Pictou. 
30 


350  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

but  from  the  scarcity  of  preachers  they  could  do  but  little  for 
them.  The  result  was  therefore  that  they  fell  in  with  other 
denominations. 

We  shall  here  give  the  principal  part  of  one  of  his  letters  to 
the  Kev.  Samuel  Gilfillan,  published  in  the  Christian  Magazine, 
as  it  not  only  gives  a  more  particular  description  of  this  visit, 
but  also  a  view  of  the  state  of  matters  in  general  within  tlie 
more  immediate  sphere  of  his  labours. 

PicTou,  Oct.  2\st,  1805. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  am  unwilling  that  our  correspondence  should  cease  (as  it 
has  for  a  time),  though  I  wore  to  get  no  other  benefit  from  it,  but  better  and 
readier  information  concerning  my  relations  and  my  native  country,  than 
I  can  otherwise  obtain.  The  greater  part  of  those  I  was  acquainted  with 
are  gone,  and  were  I  to  return  I  would  see  chiefly  a  new  people  and  a  new 
place.  But  the  principal  features  of  the  country  remain  unchanged,  and 
some  of  my  relations  and  acquaintances  are  still  alive,  on  which  account 
I  wish  to  hear  of  the  one  and  of  the  other.  I  suspect  that  I  have  a  ten- 
derer  attachment  to  that  country  than  if  I  were  there;  and  that  fancy 
paints  the  scenes  gayer  than  the  life.  Once  I  thought  that  few  earthly 
pleasures  could  be  equal  to  see  a  young  country  rising  by  rapid  improve, 
mcnt  from  nothing  into  importance,  which  I  have  seen  and  do  see  literally 
come  to  pass.  This  pleasure  migiit  perhaps  be  equal  to  its  picture  in  the 
fancy,  were  not  experience  to  come  in  with  painful  feelings  of  difficulties 
and  disadvantages  incident  to  a  new  country.  Such  is  the  rapidity  of  im- 
provements  in  Pictou,  tliat  by  and  by  we  shall  not  well  know  whether  to 
call  it  an  old  or  a  new  countr}'.  But  while  we  are  advancing  towards 
more  of  the  advantages  of  the  former,  we  are  leaving  beliind  us  those  of 
the  latter  in  proportion  ;  so  that  it  is  not  easy  to  judge,  which  is  best,  the 
state  before  us  or  the  state  behind  us.  Indeed  I  believe,  that  the  wisdom 
of  Providence  hath  balanced  the  sweets  and  the  bitters  of  all  countries,  so 
that  the  difference  between  the  best  and  tlie  worst  is  not  great.  I  knew 
Pictou  when  it  possessed  scarcel}'  any  of  the  advantages  of  civil  society, 
but  then  it  had  no  thieves  or  villains,  no  lawsuits,  no  taxes ;  we  were  all 
brothers,  almost  all  things  were  common.  Now  we  have  three  ministers, 
and  we  cannot  all  keep  down  open  wickedness.  Some  years  ago  land 
could  be  had  for  ftotliing,  now  it  must  be  bought;  but  while  it  could  be 
had  for  nothing,  it  was  a  nuisance,  and  our  cry  was  for  people  to  occupy 
it,  and  now  when  it  must  be  bought,  it  is  of  value ;  and  a  piece  of  liind 
that  would  a  few  years  ago  be  sold  for  one  hundred  pounds,  may  now  be 
sold  for  two  hundred  without  any  alteration  in  its  real  value.  All  is 
vanity. 

If  we  had  more  ministers,  our  church  would  flourish  much  more  than 
it  does.     Prince  Edward  Island  is  still  unprovided  for.     Several  of  our 


REV.    JAMES    MACGRKGOR,   D.D.  351 

congregations  will  in  a  few  years  need  to  be  divided  into  two.  Merigo- 
mish,  near  Pictou,  will  take  a  minister  as  soon  as  he  comes.  This  sum- 
mer I  made  a  tour  of  a  eonsidcrable  part  of  the  Province  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. I  went  about  three  hundred  miles  from  home.  I  saw  many  settle- 
ments in  a  very  destitute  situation.  In  general  they  were  so  thinly  peo- 
pled, tliat  they  could  not  support  the  gospel  in  their  present  lukcwarinncss, 
I  saw  no  place  so  populous  as  Pictou.  The  River  St.  John,  witii  its  vari- 
ous branches,  makes  up  the  principal  part  of  the  Province  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. The  river  is  settled  for  more  than  two  hundred  miles  up.  I  saw 
four  or  five  of  its  branches ;  some  are  settled  twenty,  some  thirty,  some 
forty  miles.  This  settling,  however,  consists  only  of  one  row  of  inhabi- 
tants on  each  side  of  the  river,  pretty  close  where  the  land  is  good,  pretty 
far  apart  where  it  is  bad.  Scarcely  anywhere  is  there  a  second  row  be- 
hind. When  I  reached  my  journey's  end,  were  I  to  set  down  one  foot  of 
the  compasses  where  I  was,  and  extend  the  other  two  hundred  miles,  and 
describe  a  circle,  I  fear  it  would  not  include  two  real  gospel  ministers. 
Tiiere  are  a  few  Church  of  England  ministers  on  the  river,  (with  whom  I 
had  not  an  opportunity  of  personal  acquaintance,)  but  I  was  informed  that 
the  people  left  them,  when  tliey  became  concerned  about  their  souls.  The 
chief  part  of  the  people  are  New  Lights,  whose  principles  are  a  mixture 
of  Calvinism,  Antinomianism,  and  enthusiasm.  They  arc,  however,  the 
best  materials  which  the  place  affords  for  the  tbrmation  of  a  church.  The 
rest  of  the  people  are  Wesley's  Methodists,  who  are  rather  on  the  decline. 
On  the  other  hand  the  New  Lights  are  increasing,  and  I  suppose  rather 
improving  in  their  principles,  and  they  have  now  changed  their  denomina- 
tion  from  New  Lights  to  Baptists.  They  baptize  not  infants,  for  their 
teachers  are  mostly  laymen.  They  have  lately  fallen  in  with  a  Baptist 
minister  in  the  metropolis  of  this  Province,  who  got  some  of  them  ordained. 
This  circumstance  may  beget  a  lasting  attachment  to  the  Baptists.  When 
I  went  among  them,  I  found  that  many  of  them  never  saw  or  heard  a 
Presbyterian  minister.  They  heard  of  them  and  thought  them  all  good. 
They  heard  me  with  apparent  eagerness  and  pleasure.  Had  we  a  few 
ministers  in  that  Province  I  suppose  they  might  unite  with  us.  Great 
allowance  should  be  made  for  them  as  they  never  heard  the  pure  gospel.  I 
saw  four  places  in  that  Province  where  hope  may  be  entertained  of  Pres- 
byterian congregations.  The  first  of  them  is  the  place  that  called  me 
thither.  They  consist  of  between  twelve  and  twenty  men,  pretty  substan- 
tial both  as  men  and  Christians.  They  have  a  kirk,  a  manse,  and  a  glebe. 
Most  of  them  are  from  New  England  and  were  Congregationalists ;  but 
there  the  Congregationalists  and  Presbyterians  frequently  kept  communion 
together.  They  would  accept  a  Presbyterian  minister,  if  he  were  not  very 
rigid.  This  is  an  opening  not  to  be  neglected.  It  is  near  the  centre  of 
the  Province.  The  other  three  places  are  settlements  where  are  a  few 
Presbyterians  for  a  foundation,  but  they  are  all  weaker  than  the  first  place. 
I  believe  there  would  soon  be  a  demand  for  a  number  of  ministers  in  thai 
Province  if  they  had  once  one.  I  heard  of  a  corner  of  the  Province,  where 
there  were  more  Presbyterians  than  any  place  I  had  seen,  but  I  could  not 


352  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

go  to  them.  1  passed  through  several  other  settlements  where  I  had  not 
time  to  make  any  stay. — Christian  May.,  vol.  x. 

Turning  to  home  labours,  we  may  record  a  curious  incident 
which  befell  him  this  autumn.  We  shall  give  it  as  it  appears 
in  his  Memorabilia,  omitting  the  name  of  the  party  concerned. 

''  In  1805,  Nov.  10,  just  as  I  was  going  to  begin  public  wor- 
ship,   ,  stood  up  in  the  meeting  house,  and  spoke  to 

this  eflfect,  '  James,  I  ask  you  wherefore  you  railed  at  me  in  the 
sermon  last  Sabbath  ?  Why  did  you  not  bring  me  before  the 
Session  ?  Am  I  not  a  gentleman  ?  Did  not  I  support  the 
gospel  from  the  beginning?  I  have  something  to  say  to  you. 
You  was  guilty  of  adultery  in  the  first  house  you  lodged  in. 
You  are  accused  of  fornication  in  the  next  house  you  lodged 
in,'  Donald  MacKay  interrupted  him,  saying  that  he  was  pro- 
faning the  Sabbath.     Then stamped  with  his  foot, 

wrinkled  his  face,  clenched  his  fist,  and  having  reached  out  his 
arm,  shook  it  in  the  most  threatening  manner,  and  said  some- 
thing which  I  do  not  recollect.  N.  B.  There  was  no  railing 
in  the  sermon  referred  to,  and  the  other  accusations  were  false." 

On  the  matter  being  brought  under  the  notice  of  the  Pres- 
bytery, they  laid  it  upon  the  Doctor  as  a  duty  to  prosecute  the 
individual  in  the  civil  court,  although  his  own  disposition  would 
have  led  him  to  have  passed  it  over.  On  steps  being  taken  to 
prosecute  the  individual,  good  Mr.  Brown  interposed  his  offices 
as  mediator,  and  brought  the  man  to  the  following  acknowledge- 
ment^ which  terminated  the  afiair. 

"  Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  10th  day  of  November  last 

(the  Lord's  day)  I of  the  East  River  of  Pictou, 

County  of  Halifax,  and  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  did,  very  im- 
properly and  rashly,  being  in  a  great  rage,  groundlessly  charge 
the  Rev.  James  MacGregor,  at  and  of  Pictou  aforesaid,  with 
adultery  and  fornication,  by  publicly  saying  that  in  the  first 
house  he  had  resided  in  after  coming  to  this  place,  he  had  been 
guilty  of  the  former,  and  in  the  second  of  the  latter.  I  now 
publicly  acknowledge  my  fault,  and  declare  my  sorrow  for 


REV.   JAiMES   MACQREGOR,   D.D.  353 

having  thus  improperly  expressed  myself,  believing  in  my 
heart  that  these  charges  are  without  foundation.  I  therefore 
entreat  the  Almighty  to  forgive  this  one  of  my  greatest  sins. 
I  also  beg  Mr.  MacGregor's  pardon — trusting  that  I  may  be  in 
future  guided  by  a  more  Christian  spirit.  Witness  my  hand 
at  Pictou,  this  21st  day  of  August,  1806. 

Ed.  Mortimer,  Witness, 
John  Brown,         " 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  though  this  unfortunate  indi- 
vidual continued  to  show  hostility  to  Doctor  MacGregor,  his 
family  are  to  this  day  decent  members  of  his  congregation. 

During  the  summer  of  1806  the  Doctor  performed  another 
laborious  missionary  journey  in  Prince  Edward  Island,  of  part 
of  which  the  following  fragment  of  his  narrative  presents  a 
sketch. 

"  1806,  July  1.  Went  to  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  in- 
habitants were  still  increasing,  and  my  visits  needed  to  more 
and  more  new  settlements,  as  well  as  to  the  old  ones. 

"  On  the  2nd,  being  Tuesday,  I  landed  at  Three  Rivers.  On 
Friday  I  preached  three  sermons  on  Eph.  ii.  3-5,  and  went  to 
Murray  Harbour,  On  Saturday,  the  5th,  I  preached  two  ser- 
mons, and  came  to  William  Graham's,  seven  miles  distant,  and 
preached  one  discourse,  and  returned  to  Three  Rivers.  On 
Sabbath,  the  6th,  I  preached  three  times  at  Three  Rivers.  On 
Monday,  the  7th,  I  went  to  Bay  Fortune,  and  on  Tuesday,  the 
8th,  preached  two  sermons  there.  On  Wednesday,  the  9th, 
went  to  St.  Peter's,  and  preached  there  two  sermons  on  Thurs- 
day, and  two  on  Friday.  On  Saturday,  the  12th,  I  went  to 
Cove  Head  and  preached.  On  Sabbath,  the  13th,  I  preached 
three  sermons,  and  three  more  on  the  Tuesday  following,  from 
Rom.  V.  1 — 12,  and  Eph.  ii.  10.  On  Wednesday,  I  preached 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Simpson,  New  Loudon,*  a  very  pious  and 
intelligent  man  from  Moray,  on  Ezek.  xxxvi.  31.     On  Thurs- 

*  More  properly  Cavendish. 
30* 


354  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

day,  I  preached  at  Mr.  Cosens'*  two  discourses  on  Gal.  ii.  30. 
On  Friday,  preached  at  Malpeque  (Princetown)  one  sermon, 
and  ou  ISabbatli,  preached  three  seruious  on  Matt.  xxv.  and  Gal. 
ii.  20.  On  the  Thursday  followiug,  preached  two  discourses  on 
Psalm  xcv.  7,  and  heard  Mr.  Pidgeon  preach.  Ou  Saturday, 
preached  two  sermons.  On  Sabbath,  the  27th,  preached  the 
action  sermon  on  Phil.  ii.  8,  fenced  the  tables,  and  served  four, 
and  preached  a  Gaelic  sermon.  Also  heard  Mr.  Pidgeon  serve 
a  table  and  preach.  On  Monday,  I  preached  twice  on  Heb.  ii. 
10—12,  and  Isa.  vi.  6,  7,  and  heard  Mr.  Pidgeon  preach.  After 
sermon  went  to  Bedeque." 

This  mission  lasted  for  sis  weeks;  of  his  employment  during 
four  of  which  we  have  an  account  above.  It  will  be  seen  that 
he  preached  thirty-seven  times  and  delivered  five  addresses  in 
twenty-five  days,  besides  travelling  over  a  great  portion  of  the 
Island.  Nor  were  his  sermons  short.  They  were  not  like 
some  modern  efforts  twenty  minutes'  essays  of  amiable  sentiment- 
alism,  read  in  a  manner  that  would  not  excite  the  nerves  of  the 
speaker.  They  were  of  good  length.  But  rarely  the  people 
heard  the  voice  of  the  preacher  of  righteousness,  and  the  pious 
listened  with  deep  delight  for  an  hour  to  the  message  of  truth. 
They  were  too,  like  Elihu,  "  full  of  matter."  Every  one  of 
them  contained  some  important  doctrine,  clearly  stated,  and 
thoroughly  discussed ;  and  they  were  delivered  with  a  power 
and  earnestness,  which,  while  fitted  to  lodge  the  truth  in  the 
mind  of  the  hearer  so  far  as  human  power  could  do  it,  were 
most  trying  to  his  physical  system  but  especially  to  his  nervous 
organization.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  on  other  occasions 
he  did  not  preach  as  much  as  on  this  occasion,  but  still  he  was 
not  idle,  being  constantly  engaged,  when  not  travelling  or  sleep- 
ing, in  ministering  the  word  from  house  to  house.  The  other 
two  weeks  were  spent  in  similar  labours  at  Bedeque,  Lot  16, 
&c. 

The  following  incident  which  we  have  received  from  a  sonrce 
which  we  deem  reliable,  probably  took  place  on  the  occasion  of 

*  New  London. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  355 

dispensing  the  sacrament  at  Priocetown  as  described  above. 
During  the  time  of  preaching,  either  on  Thursday  or  Haturday, 
there  suddenly  arose  a  fearful  storm  of  wind.  So  violent  was 
it  that  the  people  in  church  were  afraid  that  the  building  would 
be  unroofed.  He  stopped  and  engaged  in  prayer  to  Ilim  who 
"  rides  upon  the  whirlwind/'  to  "  stay  his  rough  wind."  In  a 
few  minutes  the  storm  abated.  It  was  discovered  afterward 
that  there  were  several  boats  crossing  at  the  time  from  the  other 
side  of  Richmond  Bay.  When  they  set  out  there  were  no  in- 
dications of  danger,  but  the  storm  arose  so  suddenly  and  so 
violently,  that  those  on  board  feared  that  they  would  have  been 
swamped,  but  when  they  were  in  the  greatest  extremity  the 
storm  abated  as  suddenly  as  it  arose. 

The  following  additional  information  regarding  his  visit  on 
this  occasion  to  George  Town  and  Mun-ay  Harbour,  has  been 
furnished  by  the  Rev.  Neil  MacKay.  It  was  in  the  former 
place  that  he  landed  from  Pictou,  having  come  over  in  a  large 
boat  which  had  been  built  for  the  Right  Rev.  Doctor  MacEach- 
ran,  Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Prince  Edward  Island  at  the 
time.  By  this  time  a  number  of  families  had  arrived  from 
Perthshire,  and  to  these  he  preached  in  Gaelic.  At  one  of  the 
public  services  he  was  shamefully  abused  by  a  drunken  man, 
who  called  him  "  a  black  mouthed  Seceder,"  and  a  great  many 
illnatured  things;  but  the  Doctor  took  no  notice  whatever  of 
him.  He  baptized  a  child  for  the  wife  of  this  very  man  at  the 
same  diet  of  worship.  At  one  service  he  baptized  a  child  with- 
out announcing  the  name,  because  the  parent  in  applying  to 
him  asked  to  give  the  child  a  name. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  he  first  visited  Murray  Harbour. 
There  were  at  that  time  only  three  actual  settlers  besides  the 
hands  connected  with  a  fishing  establishment  set  up  by  Mr. 
Cambridge  the  year  previous.  Early  in  that  spring  (1806)  a 
number  of  families  immigrated  from  Guernsey,  and  were  at 
that  time  living  in  Mr.  Cambridge's  store,  upon  a  point  in  the 
harbour  still  commonly  known  as  the  "  Old  Store  Point,"  where 
the  harbour  beacon  now  stands.     These  were  all  the  inhabitants 


356  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

at  that  time.  His  preaching  took  place  at  the  house  of  Jlr. 
James  Irving,  a  Dumfriesshire  Presbyterian.  The  immigrants 
from  Guernsey  were  generally  Episcopalians,  considerably  tinged 
with  Arminianism,  through  the  teaching  of  John  Wesley.  The 
Doctor's  ministrations  were  very  acceptable  to  them.  They 
subsequently  took  land  in  the  place  and  were  the  ancestors  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  present  population.  It  is  believed  that  his 
attention  to  them  at  this  early  stage  of  the  settlement  was  the 
means  which  led  to  the  adherence  of  many  of  them  and  their 
descendants  still  to  Presbyterianism. 

It  may  be  mentioned,  that  after  this  date  the  population  of 
Murray  Harbour  increased  rapidly,  as  Mr.  Cambridge  in  that 
year  built  a  large  establishment  of  mills  and  commenced  a  trade 
iu  lumber,  which  gave  employment  to  a  number  of  persons,  who 
ultimately  took  up  land  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  immigrants 
poured  in  from  various  quarters.  The  Doctor  visited  them  on 
several  occasions,  but  exact  particulars  of  his  visit  we  have  not 
been  able  to  gather.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  his  visits  were 
the  means  of  cherishing  them  as  a  congregation,  till  they  were 
able  to  obtain  a  minister  of  their  own. 

This  season  he  had  the  privilege  of  welcoming  one  who  should 
permanently  be  stationed  on  the  Island,  viz.,  the  Rev.  Peter 
Gordon,  another  who  had  been  induced  to  devote  himself  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry  in  this  country  through  his  published 
letter.  Mr.  Gordon  had  been  a  working  weaver,  but  hearing 
Doctor  MacGregor's  printed  letter  read  from  the  pulpit  of  the 
congregation  to  which  he  belonged,  he  was  so  impressed  with 
the  destitute  condition  of  the  colonists,  that  he  resolved  to  de- 
vote himself  to  study,  with  a  view  to  the  holy  ministry,  and 
with  a  determination  on  his  licensure  to  come  to  Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor's assistance.  He  pursued  his  object  amid  many  diffi- 
culties, and  probably  undermined  his  constitution  by  the  severity 
of  his  application.  But  upon  his  licensure,  he  immediately 
offered  his  services  for  Nova  Scotia,  and  being  accepted,  he 
arrived  here  in  the  course  of  the  summer.  He  was  a  man  of 
warm  feelings,  and  on  first  seeing  Doctor  MacGregor,  he  rushed 


REV.    JAMES    MACUREGOR,   D.D.  357 

into  his  arms  saying,  ''  Oh,  father  you  have  brought  me  to  this 
country." 

After  supplying  Halifax  and  otlier  places  in  Nova  Scotia  for 
a  fevr  weeks,  he  was  sent  over  to  Prince  Edward  Island  for  the 
winter.  The  Presbytery  were  particularly  anxious  about  that 
part  of  the  church,  in  consequence  of  their  being  so  long  with- 
out a  minister,  and  being  so  frequently  disappointed.  In  the 
year  1799,  the  Rev.  Francis  Pringle  had  been  appointed  to  that 
quarter,  but  coming  out  by  the  way  of  New  York,  the  Presby- 
tery there  detained  him.  In  the  year  1803,  Doctor  MacCulloch 
arrived  in  Pictou  for  the  same  destination,  but  it  being  too  late 
for  him  to  get  a  passage  across  he  remained  in  Pictou  all  winter, 
and  was  settled  there  in  the  following  spring,  persons  arriving 
in  Pictou  from  Prince  Edward  Island  to  take  him  across,  on  the 
very  day  of  his  induction.  Mr.  Gordon  was  therefore  appointed 
to  the  Island  for  the  winter,  and  was  soon  after  settled  at  St. 
Peter's.  This  relieved  the  Presbytery,  in  a  great  measure,  of 
the  charge  which  they  had  had  of  that  portion  of  the  church. 


358  MEMOIR   OF   THE 


CHAPTER     XVII. 

FROM    THE    ARRIVAL  OF   MR.  GORDON,  TILL  THE   SETTLEMENT 
OF  MR.  PIDGEON. — 1806-1812. 

"  Nevertheless,  I  have  somewhat  against  thee  because  thou  hast  left  thy  first 
love." — Rev.  ii.  4. 

During  the  year  1807,  as  already  mentioned,  he  paid  his 
second  visit  to  Miramichi,  but  we  have  no  particulars  of  it,  ad- 
ditional to  what  has  been  already  given. 

We  have  no  account  of  any  missionary  excursions  during  the 
year  1808,  and  the  minutes  of  Presbytery  after  the  year  1806 
have  been  lost,  but  we  know  that  about  this  time  the  members 
of  Presbytery  were  engaged  in  supplying  Halifax,  where  a  con- 
gregation had  been  formed  shortly  before.  There  had  been  for 
some  time  a  Presbyterian  minister  there ;  but  he  was  said  to 
have  been  in  his  doctrine  an  Arminian,  and  in  his  general 
practice  a  fair  specimen  of  the  "  Moderate"  clergy  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland  ;  and  some  serious  persons  were  anxious  for  a  min- 
ister of  a  different  stamp.  They  therefore  united  in  purchas- 
ing a  church,  which  had  been  originally  used  by  the  Methodists. 
In  some  way  the  title  to  it  was  in  the  hands  of  a  wealtliy  indi- 
vidual in  that  connection,  but  he  having  quarrelled  with  them, 
refused  them  the  use  of  the  building,  and  for  some  time  preached 
in  it  himself.  Finally  he  sold  it  to  the  parties  just  mentioned, 
who  in  the  year  1806  applied  to  Presbytery  for  supply  of 
preaching.  This  was  granted,  and  Mr.  Gordon  supplied  them 
for  six  weeks  on  his  arrival  in  the  Province.  For  the  next 
three  or  four  years  they  were  supplied  by  the  Presbytery,  but, 
as  there  were  scarcely  any  unsettled  ministers  under  their  care, 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREnOR,    D.D.  359 

the  most  of  the  work  had  to  be  done  by  members  of  Presbytery. 
Doctor  MacGregor  did  his  full  share,  supplying  them  oo  more 
than  one  occasion  for  two  or  throe  weeks.  ]>ut  we  have  no 
particulars  of  bis  visits. 

This  autumn,  (1808,)  arrived  another  minister,  who  was  af- 
terward to  be  distinguished  by  his  abundant  labours,  and  whose 
personal  excellencies  have  since  rendered  him  the  object  of  es- 
teem wherever  he  was  known.  We  allude  to  Doctor  Keir, 
whose  recent  removal  the  church  now  deplores.  He  had  come 
out  specially  to  supply  Halifax,  but  Mr.  Gordon's  health  was 
now  failing,  and  the  Presbytery  being  anxious  about  the  condi- 
tion of  the  church  there,  sent  him  thither  for  the  winter.  In 
April  following,  the  brethren  were  saddened  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Gordon,  which  made  the  first  breach  in  their  number.  Pre- 
vious to  his  arrival  in  this  country  the  seeds  of  consumption 
were  sown  in  his  constitution.  Fi'om  the  time  of  his  arrival  in 
the  Island,  he  had  laboured  with  great  diligence  in  his  IMas- 
ter's  work,  and  was  greatly  beloved  by  the  people.  But  the 
toils  connected  with  his  sphere  of  labour  were  too  great  for  his 
weak  physical  frame  to  sustain.  Still  he  laboured  on,  as  if  re- 
solved to  die  in  harness.  Toward  the  close  of  winter  he  had 
gone  from  St.  Peters  to  Princetown,  but  in  great  weakness, 
where  he  preached  by  exchange  with  Doctor  Keir,  and  bap- 
tized a  number  of  children.  On  his  way  home  he  died  at  Cove 
Head,  leaving  a  widow  and  two  fatherless  children,  one  of  them 
but  a  few  weeks  old,  to  the  care  of  Him  who  hath  said,  "  Leave 
thy  fatherless  children,  I  will  preserve  them  alive,  and  let  thy 
widows  trust  in  me." 

The  members  of  Presbytery  felt  the  bereavement  keenly.  They 
not  only  felt  the  loss  of  their  brother's  services  to  the  church — 
they  not  only  sympathized  with  his  people,  left  as  sheep  with- 
out a  shepherd,  and  with  but  little  prospect  of  one  to  supply 
his  place — they  not  only  grieved  as  for  the  loss  of  a  brother, 
who  had  been  "very  pleasant"  to  them  in  all  his  intercourse 
with  them ;  but  they  felt  something  like  that  peculiar  grief, 
which  attends  the  first  death  in  a  family.     They  immediately 


360  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

resolved  to  manifest  their  sympathy  for  his  widow  and  children, 
in  a  practical  manner.  Subscriptions  were  taken  up  through 
their  congregations  for  their  relief.  In  this  work  Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor,  who  had  already  shown  some  of  those  qualifications, 
which  caused  him  afterward  to  be  good-humoredly  described  as 
the  prince  of  beggars,  and  who  was  distinguished  for  his  perso- 
nal charity,  was  particularly  forward. 

In  summer  he  was  sent  over  to  minister  the  bounty  of  thq 
churches.  In  his  nieuiornnda  he  says,  "  1809,  Gordon  died, 
and  I  went  to  comfort  his  wife."  On  this  occasion  he  not  only 
preached  at  St.  Peters,  but  at  Cavendish,  and  Princetown,  and 
we  believe  at  other  places.  He  moderated  in  a  call  at  Prince- 
town  to  Mr.  Keir,  and  we  believe  also  at  St.  Peters.  The  lat- 
ter in  the  meantime  returned  to  the  main  land  where  he  sup- 
plied Halifax  and  3Ierigoniish.  But  such  was  now  the  state 
of  the  Island,  that  the  Presbytery,  with  whom  at  that  time 
rested  the  decision  in  competing  calls,  appointed  him  to  Prince- 
town,  with  his  own  entire  concurrence.  His  ordination,  how- 
ever was  deferred  till  the  following  June. 

In  this  year,  ( 1809,)  the  Presbytery  received  another  acces- 
sion to  their  number,  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  John  Mitchell. 
He  was  a  native  of  Newcastle-upon-Tyne,  had  been  educated 
at  Hoston  Academy,  and  came  out  to  Quebec  as  a  missionary, 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  After  labouring  for  some 
time  at  Bay  Chaleur,  he  settled  at  Amherst,  whence  he  removed  to 
Iliver  John,  in  the  year  previous,  from  which  time  he  preached 
not  only  there,  but  at  Tatamagouche,  and  Wallace;  and  afterward 
at  New  Annan.  Though  originally  a  Congregationalist,  he  in 
this  year  joined  the  Presbytery,  of  which  he  continued  a  mem- 
ber till  his  death.  He  was  not  a  man  of  superior  gifts,  but  he 
was  a  good  man,  and  a  faithful  preacher  of  righteousness.  Thus 
another  portion  of  the  vineyard,  in  which  Doctor  MacGregor 
was  the  first  to  preach  the  gospel,  obtained  a  minister,  whose  la- 
bours extended  over  a  sphere,  which  now  employs  the  labours 
of  four  or  five  ministers. 

In  June  1810,  the  Presbytery  proceeded  to  Princetown,  for 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  361 

the  purpose  of  ordaining  Doctor  Keir.  The  members  present 
were  Doctor  MacGregor,  the  Rev.  Duncan  Ross,  Doctor  Mac- 
Culloch,  and  the  late  Mr.  Mitchell,  of  River  John.  They  ar- 
rived by  way  of  Bedcque  lute  in  the  week.  Doctor  MacGregor 
preached  on  Saturday,  from  Phil.  iii.  8.  ''  I  count  all  things 
but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."  But 
the  ordination  did  not  take  place  till  the  following  day,  (  Sab- 
bath). An  ordination  was  then  an  event  entirely  new  in  that 
part  of  the  Island,  and  excited  great  interest.  There  were 
many,  doubtless,  who  rejoiced  in  the  event,  as  realizing  their 
long  disappointed  expectations,  of  having  the  ordinances  of 
religion  regularly  dispensed  among  them.  But  the  novelty  of 
the  event  excited  the  curiosity  of  many  others.  So  that  the 
whole  population,  not  only  of  Princetown,  but  of  New  London, 
Bedeque,  and  the  west  side  of  Richmond  Bay,  able  to  attend, 
assembled  on  the  occasion.  The  audience,  for  those  days, 
when  population  was  sparse,  was  considered  immense.  The 
old  church  would  not  hold  half  of  the  congregation.  A  platform 
was  accordingly  erected  outside  the  church,  but  close  by  it,  on 
which  the  ordination  took  place.  Part  of  the  audience  re- 
mained seated  in  the  church  within  sight  and  hearing,  while 
the  rest  were  assembled  outside.  Doctor  MacCulloch  preached 
from  Acts  xvii.  31.  "  He  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he 
hath  ordained,"  narrated  the  steps,  put  the  questions  of  the 
formula,  and  offered  the  ordination  prayer.  Mr.  Ross  gave  the 
charge  to  the  people,  and  we  believe  also  to  the  minister,  and 
Mr.  Mitchell  concluded  the  services  by  a  sermon  from  Acts  xiii. 
26.  "  To  you  is  the  word  of  this  salvation  sent."  But  con- 
siderable disappointment  was  felt  by  the  people,  that  they  were 
not  hearing  the  voice  of  Doctor  MacGregor,  whom  they  re- 
garded as  the  father  of  the  congregation,  and  whom  many  of 
them  individually  esteemed  as  their  spiritual  father.  As  one 
brother  after  another  occupied  the  stand,  there  were  whisper- 
ings, ''  Will  it  be  him  next?"  and  as  the  services  were  conclu- 
ding without  his  taking  any  part,  their  disappointment  almost 
31 


362  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

amounted  to  vexation ;  but  a  complete  revulsion  took  place,  when 
it  was  intimated  that,  in  ten  minutes  after  the  benediction  was 
pronounced,  Doctor  MacGregor  would  preach  in  Gaelic.  The  peo- 
ple of  Princetown  were  originally  from  Cantyre,  in  Argyleshire, 
and  the  old  people  mostly  spoke  Gaelic,  so  that  they  eagerly 
crowded  around  him  to  hear  the  gospel  in  their  native  tongue, 
and  such  was  their  interest  in  it,  and  their  esteem  for  him  in- 
creased by  the  revulsion  of  feeling  resulting  from  their  previous 
disappointment,  that  he  had  been  speaking  but  a  few  minutes 
when  the  whole  congregation  were  bathed  in  tears.  Altogether 
the  day  was  one  of  deep  and  hallowed  interest,  and  yet  has  a 
place  in  the  fondest  recollections  of  the  few  surviving  of  those 
present,  while  the  young  have  heard  of  it  traditionally  as  a  day 
long  to  be  remembered. 

But,  "  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  present  themselves  be- 
fore the  Lord,  Satan  also  came  with  them,"  and  so  it  seemed  to 
be  on  the  present  occasion.  There  was  a  man  present,  who 
was  an  infidel  and  a  bold  blasphemer.  He  had  considerable 
skill  in  sketching,  and  drew  a  caricature  of  the  whole  proceed- 
ings. He  pictured  Doctor  MacGregor  in  one  of  his  postures 
of  greatest  earnestness,  and  represented  him  with  words  coming 
out  of  his  mouth,  which  were  a  profane  misrepresentation  of 
his  test,  while  leading  persons  in  the  congregation  were  ex- 
hibited with  mouths  open,  or  in  other  ridiculous  postures. 
Apart  from  its  profanity  the  thing  was  cleverly  done,  and  it 
was  shown  to  a  good  number.  The  author  was  at  that  time  a 
man  of  influence, — had  a  fine  establishment  of  mills, — and  for 
a  time  made  considerable  money,  but  he  came  to  poverty,  and 
died  in  Charlotte  Town  in  great  wretchedness. 

This  summer  Mrs.  Gordon  removed  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  we 
may  here  notice  some  events  in  her  history,  as  she  is  soon  to  be 
brought  within  the  scope  of  our  narrative.  She  had  been  left 
an  orphan  at  an  early  age,  but  though  she  felt  some  of  the  hard- 
ships which  so  often  fall  to  the  lot  of  such,  yet  the  God  of  the 
fatherless  watched  over  her  interests,  and  provided  for  all  her 
necessities.     She  learned   those  lessons  which  are  tau"ht  with 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  363 

such  peculiar  efficiency  in  the  school  of  adversity,  and  early  she 
learned  to  put  her  trust  in  the  God  of  her  fathers,  whose  Provi- 
dential care  she  was  often  afterward  to  find  a  never  failing  re- 
source. At  an  early  age  she  went  to  live  with  her  uncle,  the 
Kcv.  Archibald  Bruce  of  Whitburn,  then  professor  of  Thcolo^^y 
to  the  Antiburgher  Synod;  but  not  to  eat  the  bread  of  depend- 
ence, for  the  terms  on  which  she  lived  with  him,  were  such  as 
to  render  her  support  the  result  of  her  own  industry.  As  she 
grew  up  she  for  a  number  of  years  kept  house  for  him,  he 
being  unmarried,  and  as  the  Theological  Hall  of  the  Synod 
met  annually  at  Whitburn,  she  became  intimately  acquainted 
with  most  of  those,  who  were  afterward  the  ministers  of  the 
body. 

While  residing  here  she  heard  Doctor  MacGregor's  printed 
letter  read  from  the  pulpit  of  the  congregation  to  which  she  be- 
longed, and  was  much  affected  by  it.  On  her  return  home  she 
gave  free  expression  to  her  feelings  of  sympathy  for  the  desti- 
tute state  of  the  people  of  this  country.  ''  I  am  vexed,"  she  said, 
"  for  the  state  of  those  poor  people,  and  that  no  person  goes  to 
them."  "  Oh  !"  said  her  uncle,  "  these  things  are  painted." 
"  I  do  not  know,"  she  replied,  "  but  they  seem  to  me  like  the 
truth."  "Would  you  go  to  them?"  asked  her  uncle.  "Well 
if  I  thought  I  could  do  any  good  I  think  that  I  would."  Lit- 
tle did  she  imagine  how  she  was  to  be  taken  at  her  word.  As 
we  have  already  mentioned,  Mr.  Gordon  about  the  same  time 
heard  the  same  letter  read,  and  was  in  like  manner  so  affected 
by  it,  that  he  devoted  himself  to  study  with  a  view  to  the  work 
of  the  ministry. 

For  a  time  her  life  moved  smoothly  on,  and  she  had  the  pros- 
pect of  a  comfortable  settlement  in  her  native  land,  by  a  union 
with  one  who  ministered  in  holy  things  in  the  body  to  which 
she  belonged  ;  when  suddenly  there  came  upon  her  one  of  those 
disappointments,  which  has  crushed  many  a  gentle  heart,  and 
caused  many  a  lovely  flower  to  wither  on  its  stem.  He  whom 
she  trusted  broke  the  most  solemn  vow,  we  believe  for  the  gold 
of  another.     Like  a  slender  reed  she  was  bent  low  before  the 


364  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

storm,  but  under  the  pressure  of  the  stern  duties  of  life,  her 
spirit  recovered  its  elasticity,  and  ere  long  it  appeared,  that 
Providence  had  appointed  her  sphere  in  very  different  circum- 
stances. Without  descending  to  particulars,  we  have  only  to 
say  that  ten  years  after  the  conversation  above  described  she 
was  married  to  Mr.  Gordon,  then  under  appointment  to  Nova 
Scotia.  Her  uncle,  who  united  them  in  marriage,  reminded 
her  of  what  had  transpired  on  the  occasion  of  the  reading  of 
Doctor  MacGregor's  letter,  which  she  had  for  some  time  for- 
gotten. The  recollection  of  it  deeply  impressed  her  mind,  and 
led  herself  and  her  friends  to  unite  in  admiration  of  the  manner 
in  which  God  leads  his  people  in  a  way  that  they  know  not. 

When  Mr.  Gordon  died  she  was  again  left  destitute,  and  that 
with  two  little  fatherless  children,  one  of  them  only  a  few  days 
old;  and  though  sometimes  "  cast  down,"  yet  her  trust  was  in 
the  faithfulness  of  a  covenant  keeping  God.  On  one  occasion 
she  was  sitting  in  tears  reflecting  upon  her  situation.  Her 
eldest  little  girl,  who  was  playing  about  the  room,  came  up  to 
her  knee,  and  looking  in  her  face  with  the  artless  confidence  of 
childhood  said,  "  Mamma,  God  help  us."  "  My  child,"  said 
the  mother  as  she  clasped  her  in  her  arms,  "  you  have  rebuked 
me." 

The  Presbytery  having  taken  her  case  into  consideration, 
arranged  that  she  should  live  with  Mr.  Dick,  as  he  had  a  large 
house  and  no  family,  and  it  was  expected  that  either  by  teach- 
ing or  sewing  she  might  maintain  her  family.  It  was  in  this 
view  that  she  came  over  to  Nova  Scotia,  but  when  she  came  to 
the  East  River,  Mrs.  MacGregor  would  not  hear  of  her  leaving 
on  any  condition.  It  was  represented  that  Mr.  Dick  had  a 
large  house.  '^  Oh,  our  house  is  large  enough,"  was  the  reply. 
"  But  he  has  no  family."  "  Still  there  is  room  enough,  or  if 
there  is  not  we  can  build  another."  Her  determination  pre- 
vailed, and  the  Doctor  set  to  work  to  build  a  small  house  for 
Mrs.  G.  on  a  corner  of  his  lot,  partly  from  his  own  means,  but 
partly  by  subscriptions  wherever  he  could  obtain  them.  During 
the  time  it  was  building,  she  lodged  in  the  Doctor's  house,  and 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  365 

when  it  was  completed,  she  went  to  occupy  it,  intending  to  sup- 
port herself  and  little  ones  either  by  teaching  or  sewing.  Little 
did  any  of  them  dream  of  what  was  soon  to  transpire. 

Mrs.  Gordon  had  not  been  many  weeks  in  her  own  house, 
when  Mrs.  MacGregor  was  suddenly  removed  by  death.  On 
the  Cth  of  Nov.,  she  gave  birth  to  her  fourth  son,  and  seventh 
child.  She  had  as  was  thought  safely  passed  her  hour  of  trial, 
and  the  Doctor  informed  of  it  retired  to  his  closet.  But  from 
unskilfulness  in  the  subsequent  treatment  on  the  part  of  those 
about  her,  her  case  took  an  unfavourable  turn.  The  Doctor 
having  returned  from  his  retirement,  said  that  he  had  just  been 
giving  thanks  to  God  for  her  safe  delivery.  But  already  she 
was  in  great  agony  and  expired  in  a  few  hours  after. 

This  event  we  need  scarcely  say  was  the  greatest  trial  that 
had  yet  befallen  him,  and  he  was  greatly  "  cast  down''  by  it. 
The  severity  of  the  stroke  in  itself,  its  startling  suddenness 
coming  when  danger  was  thought  to  be  over,  the  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case,  particularly  the  manner  in  which  her 
death  had  been  occasioned,  combined  with  his  great  natural 
tenderness  of  heart,  so  affected  him,  that  the  strong  man  was 
for  the  time  bowed  to  the  earth.  The  common  people,  who 
were  apt  to  mistake  strong  feeling  for  want  of  resignation,  were 
greatly  surprised  at  the  depth  of  his  sorrow.  Their  views 
might  be  expressed  in  the  language  of  Eliphaz  to  Job,  "Behold 
thou  hast  instructed  many,  and  thou  hast  strengthened  the 
weak  hands.  Thy  words  have  upholden  him  that  was  falling, 
and  thou  hast  strengthened  the  feeble  knees.  But  now  it  is 
come  upon  thee  and  thou  faintest;  it  toucheth  thee,  and  thou 
art  troubled."  To  one  who  expressed  surprise  at  his  being  so 
deeply  affected  by  it,  he  said,  "  Do  you  think  I  am  a  stick  or  a 
stone  ?"  Donald  MacKay  said  to  him,  "James,  where  is  all  the 
strength  and  support  you  have  been  giving  us  in  our  trouble  ?" 
"  Ah,  Donald,"  was  the  reply,  "  I  was  then  in  the  sph-it,  but  I 
am  now  in  thejlesli." 

Till  this  time  he  had  not  failed  in  fulfilling  an  apjwintment 
to  preach.  He  was  to  have  preached  at  the  Upper  Settlement 
31* 


366  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  day  following,  being  a  day  of  humiliation  or  thanksgiving. 
He,  however,  did  not  go,  and  we  believe  also  that  he  did  not 
preach  on  Sabbath.  Doubtless  he  might  have  said  as  did  Aaron 
when  his  sons  were  cut  oflf,  "Such  things  have  befallen  uie; 
and  if  I  had  eaten  the  sin  oflfering  to-day,  should  it  have  been 
accepted  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord?"  On  the  Sabbath  follow- 
ing he  preached  at  the  Upper  Settlement  in  the  old  church, 
from  Rev.  xiv.  13,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead,  which  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth ;  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may 
rest  from  their  labours  and  their  works  do  follow  them."  He 
alluded  most  affectingly  to  the  event,  and  applied  it  most 
solemnly.  He  brought  it  home  to  himself,  as  well  as  the  peo- 
ple. He  said  that  death  had  come  as  near  him  as  it  could  with- 
out touching  himself. 

But  soon  Christian  faith  and  resignation  prevailed.  Writing 
on  the  4th  December  following  to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Gilfillan, 
he  thus  describes  the  event : 

"  Yours  of  November  1809,  I  received  in  the  course  of  last 
summer,  I  do  not  mind  the  time  exactly.  I  was  not  anxious 
to  answer  it  till  November,  the  usual  time  of  ray  writing  home; 
and  when  that  time  arrived,  my  attention  was  arrested  by  an- 
other subject.  It  pleased  God,  on  the  Gth  of  last  mouth,  to 
call  home  to  himself  the  dear  partner  of  my  joys  and  griefs, 
and  to  leave  me  struggling  in  the  vale  of  tears.  But  his  'good- 
ness and  mercy  shall  follow  me  all  my  days.'  The  hand  of  my 
heavenly  Father  never  administered  to  me  such  an  affecting 
stroke.  Yet  those  of  sorrow  were  not  the  only  tears  I  shed. 
I  have  no  reason  to  mourn  as  those  who  have  no  hope.  She 
died  (and  1  may  say  she  lived)  praying  for  mercy  through  the 
Redeemer." 

He  afterward  erected  a  monument  to  her  memory  with  the 
following  inscription,  in  Gaelic  verse. 

Bu  bhean  phosda  bha  tlnthi 

Bu  mhathair  bha  caoin 
Bha  creidiuih  le  gradh  aic 

Us  gnath  nach  robh  faoin. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  367 

Of  which  the  meaning  in  English  is,  "  She  was  a  wife  most 
affectionate,  a  mother  most  tender,  she  had  faith  with  love  and 
a  conduct  consistent." 

We  may  as  well  here  tell  the  rest  of  our  story.  A  few 
months  rolled  by.  His  desire  to  comfort  the  widow  and  to 
minister  to  the  fatherless  drew  him  often  to  the  cottage  at  the 
corner  of  his  lot.  Perhaps  the  expression  of  mutual  sympathy 
in  their  bereaved  condition  rendered  such  visits  a  solace  to  his 
own  spirit.  Public  rumour  would  have  it  that  other  motives 
drew  him  thither.  His  own  natural  sagacity  soon  led  him  to 
perceive  the  incongruity  of  keeping  up  two  houses  with  two 
families,  on  one  farm,  each  family  having  only  a  single  parent, 
and  the  advantage  of  their  being  united  under  one  roof.  He 
presented  such  strong  arguments  on  the  subject,  that  the  lady 
could  not  but  acknowledge  their  force,  as  well  as  the  propriety 
of  setting  public  rumours  at  rest.  Accordingly  in  writing  to 
Doctor  Keir,  on  the  20th  Dec.  1811,  he  says,  "There  is  a  talk, 
and  I  suppose  upon  good  authority,  that  Mrs.  Gordon  and  I  are 
to  be  married  in  a  week  or  two."  Accordingly  early  in  the 
year  1812,  they  were  duly  united.  We  have  no  such  romantic 
incidents  to  record  of  his  second  as  of  his  first  marriage ;  but 
we  may  say  that  the  union  was  as  happy  as  a  union  could  be 
between  two  sinful  mortals  in  this  world,  and  one  which  was  a 
great  blessing  to  their  respective  families.  Her  children  he 
treated  as  his  own,  and  their  affection  for  him  became  as  in- 
tense a^it  could  have  been  for  their  own  father;  while  she  was 
indeed  a  mother  to  his  children,  each  of  whom  has  retained 
through  life  the  same  feelings  that  they  would  have  had  for 
their  own  mother,  a  feeling  so  strong  that  the  common  idea  of 
step-mothers  they  have  been  disposed  to  class  with  the  improb- 
able fictions  of  a  barbarous  age.  Mr.  Ross  used  to  say  in  his 
good  humoured  way,  that  one  good  wife  was  enough  for  one 
man,  but  that  Doctor  MacGregor  had  had  two. 

Of  the  summer  of  1811,  he  thus  writes  in  a  letter  to  Doctor 
Keir.  "  This  year  is  uncommonly  hard  upon  the  generality  of 
people  in  this  Province.     Provisions  are  very  scarce,  and  money 


MEMOIR    OP   THE 

still  scarcer.  We  ministers  are  not  getting  our  stipends  paid 
so  well  as  usual,  but  we  have  plenty  to  eat.  Our  Legislature 
has  established  a  number  of  Grammar  Schools  in  this  Province 
with  an  hundred  pounds  salary  to  each,  besides  the  pay  of  the 
scholars.     Mr.  MacCulIoch  has  got  the  one  for  our  district." 

During  the  same  summer  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pidgeon,  who  had 
been  sent  out  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  was  on  appli- 
cation received  by  the  Presbytery  as  a  minister  under  their  in- 
spection, and  during  that  season  was  called  to  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's,  Cove  Head,  and  Bay 
Fortune,  left  vacant  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Gordon.  His  induc- 
tion was  appointed  to  take  place  the  following  spring,  and  Doc- 
tor MacGregor,  Doctor  Keir,  and  Mr.  Dick,  were  appointed  a 
committee  of  Presbytery  for  that  purpose.  But  before  that 
time  it  pleased  the  Great  Head  of  the  Church  to  remove  Mr. 
Dick  from  his  earthly  labours.  He  died  in  the  winter  of  the 
year  1812.  His  deatb  was  deeply  felt  by  the  brethren  and 
throughout  the  church.  In  spring  Doctor  MacGregor  pro- 
ceeded to  Prince  Edward  Island,  being  taken  thither  in  a  boat 
belonging  to  Mr.  James  MacLaren.  He  was  landed  at  George 
Town,  and  thence  proceeded  to  St.  Peter's  on  horseback.  There 
he  met  Mr,  Keir.  Such  was  then  the  infrequency  of  communi- 
cation between  the  Island  and  the  mainland,  that  Mr.  Keir  had 
not  heard  of  Mr.  Dick's  death.  The  first  enquiry  therefore 
was,  "  Where  is  Mr.  Dick  ?"  to  which  Doctor  MacGregor 
solemnly  replied,  "  Mr.  Dick  is  in  eternity."  We  have  no  par- 
ticular account  of  the  induction  services.  In  private,  when  it 
was  over,  he  good  humouredly  remarked  to  some  of  the  people, 
*'  You  ought  to  be  mucb  obliged  to  me,  as  I  have  taken  your 
former  minister's  wife  ofi"  your  hands,  and  now  I  am  come  to 
give  you  another  minister." 

After  the  induction  he  returned  to  George  Town,  and  Mur- 
ray Harbour,  at  botb  of  which  places  he  preached.  He  does 
not  seem  to  have  itinerated  in  other  parts  of  the  Island.  Prob- 
ably as  the  principal  settlements  in  the  western  part  of  the 
Island  were  now  under  the  charge  of  Doctor  Keir,  and  those 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  369 

in  the  east  under  Mr.  Pidgeon,  he  did  not  feel  it  necessary. 
He  was  taken  home  from  Murray  Harbour  in  the  same  boat 
that  had  brought  him  over. 

"We  shall  conclude  this  chapter  with  some  account  of  the  de- 
generacy in  morals  in  Pictou,  which,  as  we  have  already  inti- 
mated began  some  years  before,  but  which  was  now  at  its  height. 
He,  himself,  thus  describes  it  in  a  letter  written  about  the  year 
1809. 

"  I  am  already  an  old  man,  failing  both  in  body  and  mind ; 
while  my  labour,  could  I  attend  to  it,  is  constantly  increasing. 
Though  I  cannot  say  that  I  am  labouring  in  vain,  yet  the 
kingdom  of  Satan  is  visibly  growing  stronger  every  year.  There 
is  au  incredible  change  in  Pictou  in  my  time.  For  the  first 
nine  or  ten  years  we  were  visibly  reforming,  but  ever  since  the 
generality  have  been  backsliding,  though  many  individuals  are 
still  holding  on  their  way.  Many  of  the  older  Christians  have 
dropped  off  the  stage,  and  few  of  those  who  have  come  in  their 
place  have  their  spirit.  Many  causes  contribute  their  influence 
to  our  degeneracy.  There  were  not  much  above  400  souls,  if 
so  many,  in  Pictou,  when  I  came  to  it,  whereas  we  are  now  nigh 
4000,  if  not  more.  When  people  increase,  sin  multiplies.  The 
first  settlers  had  to  struggle  hard  in  clearing  the  woods  for  a 
living,  their  sons  enjoying  their  labours  are  easy  but  not  good. 
The  first  settlers  mingled  little  with  the  world,  through  poverty 
and  want  of  roads  ;  now  we  have  some  riches  and  tolerable  roads, 
and  of  course  easy  communication  with  strangers  and  their  in- 
fections. We  have  suffered  from  emigrants  settling  among  us 
from  different  parts  of  the  Highlands ;  but  more  from  merchants 
and  traders  from  England,  and  the  south  of  Scotland.  The  ig- 
norance and  superstition  of  the  former  have  not  done  us  so  much 
evil,  as  the  avarice,  the  luxury,  the  show,  and  the  glittering 
toys  of  the  latter. 

"  But  the  grand  cause  of  our  depravation  is  the  shutting  up 
of  the  Baltic.  If  the  Devil  contrived  it  for  the  ruin  of  our 
morals,  he  is  a  master  in  politics;  for  it  were  hard  to  contrive 
a  more  effectual  scheme  for  that  purpose.     If  God  were  not 


370  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

above  him,  he  would  accomplish  his  end  completely.  Ever 
since  that  event,  ships,  sailors,  money,  and  spirituous  liquors  with 
their  attendant  evils,  have  been  pouring  in  among  us  continually. 
The  great  demand  for  timber  has  in  a  manner  caused  us  to  lay 
aside  lavming,  our  most  innocent,  and  in  the  long  run  our  most 
profitable  earthly  employment,  and  give  up  ourselves  to  the  fel- 
ling, squaring,  hauling,  rafting,  and  selling  of  timber  to  the 
ships,  and  the  squandering  of  money.  Once  in  a  day  I  could 
not  have  believed  that  all  the  vices  in  the  world  would  have 
done  so  much  damage  in  Pictou,  as  I  have  seen  drunkenness 
alone  do  within  these  few  years.  Indeed,  this  sin  is  pre-eminent 
in  America.  The  prosperity  of  fools  destroys  them.  Gloomy 
indeed  is  the  prospect  which  the  young  generation  here  pre- 
sents. But  still  God  rules  ;  and  Oh  !  how  mysteriously  and  won- 
derfully does  he  prevent,  permit,  restrain,  or  let  loose  sinners 
in  their  evil  ways.  And  I  must  confess  that  I  see  his  love  and 
truth  more  eminently  glorified  in  the  preservation  of  his  own 
in  the  midst  of  so  much  wickedness,  and  so  many  temptations, 
than  before  they  became  so  prevailing.  Oh  !  the  wisdom  of  God 
in  training  his  poor  inexperienced  people  to  fight  successfully 
with  sin,  his  tenderness  in  suiting  their  trials  to  their  ability, 
and  his  merciful  power  in  making  them  conquerors,  after  being 
frequently  foiled.  But  how  desperate  is  the  stupidity  and 
brutishness  of  sinners,  quite  insensible  to  the  struggle  against 
sin,  to  the  humility,  self-denial,  and  holiness,  manifest  in  the 
example  of  their  nearest  neighbours  !" 

The  causes  of  this  degeneracy  are  here  fully  described.  The 
first  was  the  great  influx  of  worldly  prosperity.  When  the 
war  first  broke  out,  the  price  of  timber  fell,  but  it  soon  rose  to 
an  unprecedented  height.  Especially  after  the  closing  of  the 
Baltic  ports  against  British  commerce  by  the  decrees  of  Napo- 
leon, the  demand  for  Colonial  timber  became  very  large,  and 
great  efforts  were  made  to  supply  it,  and  Pictou  became  for 
years  one  of  the  chief  places  of  export  of  timber  to  Britain.  In 
the  year  1805  its  exports  amounted  to  £105,000.  Such  an  in- 
flux of  prosperity  introduced  a  large  number  of  a  very  worthless 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  371 

class  of  persons.  It  produced  the  extravagance  and  other  evils 
of  unregulated  prosperity,  while  the  vices  of  a  state  of  war  af- 
fected all  classes  of  society.  It  might  have  been  expected  that 
such  prosperity  would  at  least  have  had  an  important  influence 
upon  the  improvement  of  the  country.  But  it  would  be  diifi- 
cult  to  find  in  any  land  an  example  of  such  prosperity  leaving 
so  few  permanent  results  for  good  even  upon  its  material  pro- 
gress. Farming  retrograded.  The  farmers  went  to  the  woods 
for  timber,  and  left  their  farms  to  neglect.  The  land  was  thus 
depreciated  by  having  the  valuable  timber  removed  from  it, 
without  its  being  cleared  or  rendered  fit  for  the  plough ;  while 
a  ruinous  system  of  farming  impoverished  the  land  already  un- 
der cultivation.  The  farmer  thought  only  of  hastily  commit- 
ting his  seed  to  the  ground  in  spring,  and  of  removing  the  crop 
in  harvest,  and  paid  no  attention  to  manuring,  rotation,  or  other 
improved  systems  of  agriculture;  in  many  instances  the  dung 
being  allowed  to  accumulate  around  their  stables  until  the  sills 
rotted,  and  it  became  a  question  whether  it  were  easier  to  re- 
move the  mass  or  the  barn,  unless  where  an  individual  with 
more  foresight  erected  his  barn  by  a  running  stream,  which 
served  to  carry  away  the  filth.  In  this  way  their  farms  became 
thoroughly  exhausted,  and  the  evils  of  this  state  of  things  have 
continued  to  the  present  day,  both  by  the  improper  system  of 
farming  ^hich  is  even  yet  not  entirely  abolished,  and  by  the 
bad  reputation  which  the  country  gained  as  to  its  capabilities 
for  agriculture.  The  merchants,  partly  owing  to  the  system  of 
credit  already  described,  and  partly  owing  to  the  changes  which 
took  place  in  the  lumber  market,  nearly  all  failed.  Scarcely 
one  of  them  died  wealthy.  Of  those  who  at  one  time  were  most 
flourishing,  even  of  the  man  who  counted  himself  worth  £100, 
000,  the  estates  proved  insolvent ;  and  the  country  came  out 
of  a  season  of  commercial  prosperity,  such  as  it  has  never  since 
seen,  with  exhausted  resources. 

Lumbering  has  been  generally  most  fatal  to  the  morals  of 
those  who  have  made  it  their  business.  The  usual  mode  of  con- 
ducting it  was  for  a  number  of  men  to  iro  to  the  woods  in  au- 


372  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

tumn  with  a  supply  of  provisions,  and  there  to  erect  a  rude 
camp  in  which  they  spent  the  winter,  with  the  exception  of 
visits  to  the  settlements  for  necessaries.  They  then  proceeded 
to  cut  down  timber,  to  square  and  haul  it  to  the  neighbouring 
streams.  In  the  spring,  when  the  melting  of  the  snow  and  the 
fall  of  rain  causes  a  large  rising  of  the  rivers,  the  timber  was 
floated  down  to  the  nearest  port  of  shipping.  This  mode  of 
living,  separated  from  the  humanizing  influences  of  civilized 
life,  tends  to  brutalize  men;  while  the  exposure  to  cold  and  wet, 
particularly  in  rafting  in  the  spring,  forms  a  strong  temptation 
to  hard  drinking. 

But  the  great  characteristic  of  the  times,  as  mentioned  by  the 
Doctor  in  an  extract  previously  given,  was  the  extent  to  which 
rum  was  used.  The  first  settlers  used  very  little.  They  had 
not  the  means  of  obtaining  it,  as  it  then  cost  twenty  shillings  a 
gallon.  Besides  pure  water,  or  milk,  almost  the  only  drink  in 
which  they  indulged  was  the  Partridge  berry  tea.  Even  tea, 
now  used  in  Nova  Scotia  to  an  extent,  which  for  the  number  of 
its  inhabitants  is  altogether  unparalleled,  was  for  some  time  an 
unknown  luxury.  We  have  heard  of  an  old  woman,  inviting 
some  of  her  friends  to  tea  for  the  first  time,  who  prepared  it  by 
boiling  a  pound,  and  carefully  straining  oflF  the  water,  served  up 
the  leaves  something  in  the  form  of  greens.  The  arrival  of  the 
disbanded  soldiers  introduced  drinking,  and  partially  afi"ected 
the  habits  of  other  settlers.  But  it  was  not  till  the  lumbering 
business  became  active,  that  their  morals  and  habits  became  se- 
riously afi"ected  by  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  In  the  year  1794, 
rum  began  to  be  introduced  freely  from  the  West  Indies,  and 
the  extent  to  which  it  was  consumed  in  after  years  seems  now 
absolutely  incredible.  We  have  heard  for  example  of  a  settle- 
ment, in  which  there  was  imported  in  the  autumn  at  the  rate 
of  half  a  puncheon  for  every  family  in  the  settlement,  and  by 
the  month  of  April  the  supply  was  exhausted. 

The  habit  of  drinking  was  most  prevalent  among  the  lum- 
berers. We  have  heard  for  example  of  a  man  being  employed 
at  five  shillings,  with   an   allowance   of  two  glasses  per  diem, 


EEV.   JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  373 

and  yet  being  in  debt  in  spring,  though  the  money  had  gone 
for  nothing  but  rum.  When  a  lumbering  party  went  to  the 
woods,  they  initiated  their  proceedings  with  a  carouse,  which 
made  such  inroads  into  their  supply  of  rum  as  rendered  an  early 
visit  to  the  settlement  necessary  to  have  it  replenished.  When 
they  did  get  to  work,  they  daily  consumed  quantities  which  are 
to  lis  inconceivable.  We  have  heard  of  a  man  at  work  taking 
his  glass  every  hour,  or  in  the  course  of  a  day  consuming  his 
quart  bottle  of  rum,  while  at  intervals  their  labours  were  ar- 
rested for  the  enjoyment  of  a  carouse,  which  might  last  two  or 
three  days.  Thus  in  spring  they  still  found  themselves  in  debt 
to  the  merchant,  from  whom  they  had  got  their  supplies  in 
autumn,  the  timber  they  had  made  scarcely  paying  for  the  pro- 
visions they  had  consumed,  and  the  rum  they  had  drunk. 

The  lumberers,  however,  were  not  the  only  persons  affected 
by  the  free  introduction  of  rum.  No  class  of  society  was  ex- 
empt from  its  influence.  The  extent  to  which  rum  became 
hahitualli/  used,  is  little  known  to  the  present  generation,  but 
there  are  a  number  of  persons  still  living,  who  from  their  recol- 
lection can  give  facts,  which  fill  us  with  amazement.  They  can 
tell  of  the  time,  when  two  glasses  a  day  was  considered  a  mode- 
rate allowance  for  a  working  man — when  a  person  in  comfort- 
able circumstances  would  not  have  thought  of  sitting  down  to 
dinner  without  a  decanter  on  one  corner  of  the  table — when  it 
would  be  an  unpardonable  aff'ront  if  a  neighbour  when  he  called 
was  not  offered  the  bottle — when  rum  flowed  freely  alike  at  all 
occasions  of  family  interest,  births,  deaths,  and  bridals* — and  at 
all  occasions  of  public  concourse — when  every  bargain  was 
cemented  over  the  social  glass — when  in  fact  no  business  of  any 
kind  could  be  transacted  except  in  presence  of  the  bottle,  and 

*  It  is  but  just  to  observe  that  from  tbe  manner  in  which  Baptism  was  ad- 
ministered, publicly  and  on  tbe  Sabbath  daj',  from  the  careful  examination  of 
the  character  and  knowledge  of  those  who  received  it,  as  well  as  from  the 
solemn  feelings  with  which  it  is  generally  viewed  by  Scottish  Presbyterians, 
we  have  never  heard  of  "  Christenings"  being  the  occasions  of  feasting  among 
Doctor  MacGrcgor's  hearers,  as  we  have  hoard  of  there  being  in  other  places. 
32 


374  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

as   has   been    often   said  a  pig  could  not  be  killed  without 
liquor. 

As  late  as  the  year  1827,  it  was  published  in  the  local  news- 
paper, as  a  remarkable  circumstance  that  a  house  frame  was 
raised  without  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.* 

The  habitual  use  of  liquor,  perhaps  not  quite  to  the  extent 
which  we  have  described,  was  common  among  the  best  and 
most  sober  part  of  the  community.  The  minister  as  regularly 
took  his  dram  as  his  parishioners — the  elder  sold  liquor,  and 
saw  one  son  after  another  becoming  drunkards.  We  may  there- 
fore imagine  how  much  more  deeply  others  indulged — how  many 
lived  and  died  drunkards.  In  fact,  even  the  most  respectable 
members  of  the  community,  and  professors  of  Christianity,  some- 
times went  to  excess.  Thus  for  long  years  the  ministers  of  the 
county  might  be  said  to  have  maintained  one  grand  struggle 
against  rum,  and  it  was  not  until  the  Temperance  Reformation 
began  about  the  year  1827,  that  the  evil  was  decidedly  checked. 

Doubtless  there  were  good  men  who  had  not  defiled  their 
garments — and  among  the  rising  generation,  there  were  still 
some,  we  may  say  many,  who  gave  themselves  to  the  Lord.  But 
in  general  it  was  a  time  when  iniquity  abounded,  and  the  love 


*  "On  Friday  last  the  frame  of  a  largo  dwelling  house,  the  property  of 
George  MacBonald,  was  erected  without  the  use  of  rum.  In  lieu  of  it  alo  nnd 
beer  were  used,  so  that  the  work  was  completed  in  a  superior  manner,  while 
neither  abusive  language  nor  profane  swearing  was  heard,  no  black  eyes  nor 
drunken  men  seen  ;  but  peace  and  friendship  pervading  the  concourse.  That 
this  change  of  custom,  in  this  part  of  the  country,  will  be  followed  in  future 
(at  least  to  a  great  degree)  may  be  reasonably  expected,  since  it  tends  not 
only  to  promote  the  harmony,  health,  and  respectability,  of  those  who  as- 
semble on  such  occasions,  but  the  interests  of  the  builder.  Ten  or  twelve 
years  ago  he  must  have  used  almost  as  many  gallons  of  the  mighty  ruin,  in 
erecting  a  frame  of  similar  dimensions,  and  for  this  not  unfrequciitly  have 
his  nsime  stationed  on  the  wrong  side  of  some  ledger;  whence  it  may  not  bo 
so  readily  erased,  as  some  purchasers  of  spirits  allow  themselves  to  believe." 
—  Col.  Patriot,  \7tJi  S'e2jt.  1828. 

It  may  bo  added,  thai;  an  attempt  was  made  previously  to  raise  without 
rum,  but  such  was  the  small  number  of  the  friends  of  Temperance,  and  such 
the  opposition  of  its  enemies,  that  the  attempt  failed. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  375 

of  many  waxed  cold.  Even  the  Christians  trained  in  that  era 
Were  not  equal  in  character  and  wortii  to  the  first  generation 
trained  in  this  county. 

In  the  description  we  have  now  given,  we  do  not  mean  to 
coiititic  our  remarks  to  the  period  at  which  we  have  arrived. 
The  degeneracy  had  reached  its  height  about  this  period,  but  it 
began  about  the  end  of  the  last  century,  and  it  extended  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  over  the  first  quarter  of  the  present. 


376  MEMOIR  OF   THE 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

CHRISTIAN    AND   BENEVOLENT   ENTERPRISES. — 1808-1815. 

*'  That  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  have  free  course  and  be  glorified."     2  Thcss. 

iii.  1. 

After  his  missionary  tour  in  Prince  Edward  Island  at  the 
time  of  the  induction  of  Mr.  Pidgeon  in  1812,  we  know  of  no 
missionary  journeys  undertaken  during  the  two  following  years. 
But  he  had  plenty  of  work  at  home.  Besides  the  different  sec- 
tions of  his  congregation  on  the  East  River,  he  had  to  give  oc- 
casional supply  of  preaching  to  Merigomish.  Besides  at  that 
time  it  was  customary  when  the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper  was 
dispensed  in  one  congregation,  that  all  the  neighbouring  minis- 
ters should  assist.  This  occupied  a  considerable  amount  of 
time  in  summer,  the  season  most  suited  for  missionary  excur- 
sions. He  was  also  clerk  of  Presbytery,  and  though  the  corres- 
pondence of  the  Church  at  that  time  was  not  very  voluminous, 
yet  it  was  sufficient  to  be  felt  as  an  encroachment  upon  his 
time.* 

Besides  about  this  time  there  was  a  large  influx  of  emigrants 
from  the  Highlands,  which  continued  for  several  years.  These 
persons  occupied  the  back  settlements  of  the  county  of  Pictou, 
and  some  portions  of  the  adjoining  counties.     Those  who  set- 

*  Perhaps  the  war  that  was  then  prevailing  may  have  hindered  his  visits 
to  the  neighbouring  Provinces,  as  American  Privateers  were  then  frequently 
on  the  coast. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  377 

tied  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  county  naturally  fell  under  his 
care,  and  he  did  what  he  could  for  their  spiritual  welfare.  But 
being  the  only  member  of  Presbytery  able  to  preach  in  Gaelic, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Ross,  who  was  imperfect  at  it,  he 
was  also  frequently  called  to  visit  other  settlements.  Of  such 
visits  the  following  will  serve  as  a  sample.  Being  urgently  so- 
licited to  go  out  to  the  back  of  Rogers'  Mill,  to  preach  to  the 
Highlanders  there,  he  consented  if  Mr.  Ross  would  find  a  man 
to  accompany  hiui.  Mr.  John  Douglass  was  the  person  selected. 
When  they  reached  the  place,  they  found  a  man  who  had  come 
fifteen  miles  to  hear  sermon.  The  Doctor  immediately  said, 
*' We  need  not  complain  of  the  distance  we  have  come."  He 
preached  twice  on  Sabbath  to  a  large  congregation.  As  the 
service  was  concluding  he  said  to  Mr.  Douglass,  "John,*  there 
is  a  large  number  of  people  here,  how  would  it  do  to  give  them  an- 
other sermon  to-morrow  '/"  Mr.  Douglass  replied,  "  We  can  only 
get  home  to-morrow,  and  if  you  have  preaching  early  you  can 
do  that  afterward."  He  accordingly  intimated  preaching  the 
next  day  at  10  o'clock.  Squire  MacCara,  with  whom  he  lodged, 
promised  to  have  dinner  ready  when  sermon  was  over,  that  he 
might  not  be  detained.  When  the  sermon,  which  was  in  Gaelic, 
was  about  concluding,  Mr.  MacCara  asked  Mr.  Douglass  if  he 
was  near  done.  Mr.  Douglass  replied  that  he  was.  Mr.  Mac- 
Cara sped  away  to  have  dinner  ready.  But  a  moment  after  two 
old  women  came  in,  who  had  so  exerted  themselves  to  get 
there,  that  the  perspiration  was  coming  through  their  hair  and 
wetting  their  caps.  The  Doctor  immediately  resumed  his  dis- 
course, and  preached  almost  as  much  longer.  When  they  came 
to  Mr.  MacCara's,  dinner  was  cold.  The  Squire  said,  "  We 
must  blame  Mr.  Douglass,  for  he  told  me  that  you  were  nearly 
done."  Mr.  Douglass  replied,  "  We  must  blame  Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor,  for  he  lengthened  out  his  discourse."    "  W"e  must  blame 

*  It  should  have  been  mentioned  before  that  it  was  then  the  common  way 
to  address  one  another  b}'  their  christian  names.     Doctor  MacGregor  encour- 
aged his  people  in  using  the  same  style  to  himself.     Hence  he  was  often  ad- 
dressed as  .James,  more  especially  by  the  Gaelic  people. 
32* 


878  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  old  women/'  said  the  Doctor.  He  then  explained  how  it 
happened.  "  Oh,  if  that's  the  way,"  said  the  Squire,  "  we  must 
not  complain." 

It  is  time  however  that  we  refer  to  his  efforts  on  hehalf  of 
the  missionary  and  benevolent  institutions  of  the  age.  His  in- 
terest in  these  had  been  practically  manifested  previous  to  tlie 
time  in  his  history  at  which  we  have  arrived,  but  from  this  time 
exertions  were  more  systematic  and  extensive,  and  we  wished 
to  describe  his  efforts  on  behalf  of  different  measures  together. 

From  the  incidents  already  recorded,  it  will  have  been  appa- 
rent, that  he  was  always  remarkable  for  his  charitable  dona- 
tions. During  the  whole  of  his  ministry,  there  were  numbers 
of  new  settlers  arriving,  who  were  for  some  years  very  poor. 
Often  did  he  relieve  such,  particularly  by  giving  them  supplies 
of  seed  in  spring.  For  such  objects  the  sums  sometimes  given 
were  for  his  circumstances  very  large.  Thus  a  minister  known 
to  be  very  poor  having  visited  him,  and  spent  some  weeks  with 
him,  he,  on  his  departure,  gave  him  £6  to  buy  a  cow.  As  this 
minister  died  in  1799,  this  must  have  happened  in  the  early 
part  of  his  ministry.  Indeed  had  it  not  been  for  the  economy 
of  himself  and  his  wife,  and  their  good  management  of  their 
farm,  his  liberality  might  have  embarrassed  him  in  his  worldly 
affairs. 

This  charity  was  in  a  number  of  instances  returned  into  his 
own  bosom.  One  curious  example  may  be  given.  A  sister  of 
his,  in  humble  circumstances,  was  on  her  way  to  Canada  in  an 
emigrant  vessel  with  her  family.  On  passing  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia,  she  expressed  a  wish  that  she  were  on  land  with  her 
brother.  One  asked  who  was  her  brother  there  ?  She  replied, 
"  Doctor  MacGregor,  a  minister  in  Pictou."  The  cook  having 
heard  this,  told  them  that  he  had  once  landed  at  Pictou,  after 
being  shipwrecked,  that  the  Doctor  himself  had  come  down  to 
the  wharf  and  taken  off  his  own  top  coat  and  given  it  to  him. 
He  had  also  provided  him  with  employment  during  the  winter. 
The  poor  fellow  was  so  grateful  for  this  kindness  that,  during 
the  rest  of  the  voyage,  he  could  not  do  enough  for  them. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  379 

But,  considering  the  character  of  his  own  labours,  and  the 
missionary  spirit  which  had  ever  characterized  him,  we  might 
expect,  that  when  the  great  movements  of  the  present  day  for 
the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  commenced  his  heart 
would  be  deeply  interested  in  them.  Accordingly,  from  their 
very  outset,  he  watched  their  progress  with  the  liveliest  feel- 
ings of  delight,  and  gratitude  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  church. 
Intelligence  from  abroad  was  then  only  received  at  distant  in- 
tervals, but  when  received  was  doubly  welcome.  People  used 
to  say  that  they  could  tell  when  he  had  received  missionary 
tidings  from  abroad,  by  his  preaching  on  the  Sabbath  after. 
The  information  thus  received  he  diligently  circulated  among 
the  people,  and  as  soon  as  circumstances  permitted,  he  endea- 
voured to  enlist  their  sympathies  practically  in  support  of  the 
leading  Christian  enterprises  of  the  day. 

This  it  must  be  observed  was  no  easy  matter.  It  is  always  a 
matter  of  some  difficulty  to  bring  a  church  unaccustomed  to  ef- 
forts of  the  kind,  to  do  its  duty.  This  was  more  difficult  at 
the  commencement  of  Missions,  for  then  every  thing  was  new. 
But  it  was  especially  difficult  in  his  position  in  a  new  country, 
with  a  sparse  population,  the  church  consisting  of  a  very  few 
congregations, — many  of  its  members  poor,  the  large  majority 
maintaining  themselves  only  by  hard  labour,  and  scarcely  any 
wealthy,  and  thinking  themselves  scarcely  able  to  maintain  the 
gospel  among  themselves.  Indeed  many  would  have  considered 
that  he  would  have  been  perfectly  justified  in  not  making  any 
appeal  to  his  people  at  all  on  the  subject,  more  particularly 
when  it  was  considered  how  imperfectly  the  stipends  of  himself 
and  his  brethren  were  paid.  But  his  zeal  on  these  subjects  was 
as  a  consuming  fire  within  his  bones,  and  he  engaged  in  the  work 
with  all  the  ardor  of  his  nature.  His  success  will  appear  by  an 
account  of  the  principal  eflforts  of  the  kind  made  in  his  own  and 
the  neighbouring  congregations. 

The  institution  which  most  deeply  enlisted  his  sympathy, 
and  on  behalf  of  which  he  first  engaged  the  efforts  of  his  people, 
was  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.     From  the  time  of 


380  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

its  formation  he  was  interested  in  its  proceedings,  and  he  heard 
of  its  progress  with  intense  delight.  From  an  early  period  he 
adopted  active  measures  in  promoting  its  objects,  both  by  circu- 
lating the  Scriptures  within  his  own  sphere,  and  by  raising 
subscriptions  to  aid  the  operations  of  the  society.  From  the 
report  of  that  Institution  for  the  year  1S08,  we  take  the  follow- 
ing extract  of  a  letter  from  him,  dated  4th  December,  1807  : 

Dear  Sir  : — By  tlic  reports  of  tlic  British  and  Foreirjn  Bible  Society, 
I  see  among-  their  good  endeavours,  their  exertions,  in  favour  of  my  coun- 
trymen, in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  Of  these  many  thousands,  both 
Protestant  and  Catliolic,  iiave  emigrated  both  formerly  and  of  late  into  these 
parts  of  America.  This  district  situated  about  100  miles  north-east  of  Hali- 
fax, contains  tiOO  or  700  families  of  them,  of  which  the  majority  are  Prot- 
estants. Atiiong  these  I  have  ministered  in  the  gospel  about  twenty  years, 
in  their  mother  tongue,  and  for  twelve  years  another  minister  has  served 
in  my  neiglibourliood  in  the  same  language.  There  arc  also  many  High- 
landers in  Prince  Edward  Island,  ( formerly  St.  John,)  and  Cape  Breton  ; 
in  the  former  they  make  the  m«jority  of  the  inhabitants.  There  is  scarcely 
a  corner  of  the  Province,  in  which  they  are  not  to  be  found.  The  Catho- 
lics in  general  are  quite  indifferent  about  the  Bible  ;  but  almost  all  the  Pro- 
testants wish  to  have  it,  and  as  they  cannot  at  present  get  it  in  Gaelic,  most 
of  them  have  it  in  English.  Most  of  the  old  people  cannot  understand  the 
English,  nor  read,  but  they  send  their  children  to  school,  and  these  can 
understand  both  languages,  and  of  course  translate,  afler  a  manner,  a 
chapter  for  the  benefit  of  their  parents,  which  they  generally  do,  morning 
and  evening.  Many  of  the  j'oung  generation,  and  numbers  of  the  old,  can 
read  the  Gaelic,  for  though  we  have  but  three  or  four  full  copies  of  the  Bihle 
and  a  few  odd  volumes,  yet  we  have  plenty  of  Psalters,  Catechisms,  and 
some  religious  tracts.  It  would  certainly  be  a  great  mercy  to  have  Gaelic 
Bibles  somewhat  plenty  among  them.  Many  could  pay  for  them,  but 
many  others  could  not,  especially  of  the  late  emigrants,  who  are  very  nu- 
merous. If  you  could  send  me  fifty  copies,  or  any  other  number  gratis, 
for  the  use  of  the  latter,  I  would  distribute  them  as  faithfully  as  I  could. 
If  you  could  send  me  fifty  copies  for  sale,  I  would  send  you  the  pny  as 
soon  as  I  could,  though  I  cannot  now  mention  the  exact  time.  More  might  bo 
sent  for  afterwards,  if  these  were  f)und  productive  of  the  expected  advan- 
tage. Our  neighbour  Province  of  New  Brunswick  is  in  considerable 
want  of  Bibles. 

May  the  great  author  of  the  Scriptures  bless  the  Society,  and  prosper 
their  endeavours,  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  have  free  course  and  be 

glorified. 

I  am.  Dear  Sir, 

Yours,  most  sincerely, 
James  MacGregor. 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  381 

The  above  exhibits  in  a  striking  point  of  view  the  scarcity 
of  the  Scriptures  in  Gaelic,  even  at  the  beginning  of  this  century. 
Similar  destitution  existed  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  The 
Society,  which  had  just  published  a  version  of  the  Scriptures 
in  Gaelic,  promptly  met  his  request,  and  large  supplies  of  the 
Scriptures  both  in  Gaelic  and  English  were  forwarded.  In  the 
year  1808  we  find  Bibles  and  Testaments  sent  on  his  recom- 
mendation to  Mr.  Mortimer  for  sale,  and  in  the  same  year  we 
find  reported  among  the  Society's  operations,  a  grant  of  500 
Bibles  and  Testaments  in  Gaelic  to  Nova  Scotia  and  Canada. 
A  portion  of  these  were  sent  to  him,  and  the  Secretary  says,  in 
a  letter:  "  Of  those  entrusted  to  your  care,  the  Committee  vo- 
ted them  for  sale  or  gratuitous  distribution,  according  to  your 
discretion  ;  therefore  if  you  can  find  persons  desirous  of  a  Bible, 
who  are  too  poor  to  purchase  one  at  a  reduced  price,  you  have 
a  discietion  to  give  them  one,  although  if  they  pay  but  a  trifle 
for  it,  they  would  take  greater  care  of  it,  and  perhaps  read  it 
oftener  than  if  it  were  given  to  them  gratis." 

From  the  manner  in  which  the  last  mentioned  grant  is  men- 
tioned, as  well  as  from  some  of  the  correspondence,  it  would  al- 
most appear  as  if  the  committee  considered  Nova  Scotia  as 
somewhere  in  the  back-woods  of  Canada,  and  Quebec  on  the 
direct  route  to  it.  The  following  extract  of  a  letter  of  the 
Doctor's,  written  probably  in  1812,  regarding  another  lot,  seems 
to  indicate  this,  or  at  all  events  shows  the  difficulty  of  commu- 
nication at  that  time. 

On  February  7th,  I  received  yours  of  May  20th,  1811.  The  duplicate 
I  received  some  time  before.  The  books  are  still  in  Quebec.  They  were 
put  on  board  tlie  brig  Peggy,  Cap.  Richard  Smith,  for  Halifax.  She  met 
with  a  violent  gale,  and  had  to  go  back  to  Quebec  in  distress,  and  there 
slie  stayed  all  winter,  but  we  expect  her  early  in  summer.  As  the  harbour 
of  Quebec  is  frozen  four  or  five  moiitlis  in  tlie  year,  and  as  the  coninmni- 
cation  between  Nova  Scotia  and  Quebec  is  not  frequent  even  in  summer, 
it  is  easier  for  us  to  get  any  thing  from  London  than  from  Quebec.  If  the 
Society  should  have  occasion  to  send  us  any  more  books  the  better  vi'ay 
will  be  to  wait  for  a  vessel  bound  for  Halifax,  or  Pictou.  I  have  gotttn 
information  that  the  most  part  of  the  Peggy's  cargo  was  damaged,  but 
that  the  books  narrowly  escaped.     May  kind  Providence  watch  over  them 


382  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

Still.  I  spoke  to  Mortimer's  clerk,  ( liimself  not  being  at  lionic,)  concern- 
ing' tiie  books  sent  iiini  in  18Q8.  His  excuse  was,  tliat  it  is  not  their  cus- 
tom to  pay  f^)r  consignments  till  they  are  sold,  and  that  these  books  were 
not  sold  till  very  lately,  owing  to  their  not  having  the  metre  Psalms,  but  he 
said  they  would  be  paid  now. 

When  these  Bibles  arrived  tliey  excited  the  greatest  interest. 
Persons,  whose  recollection  extends  that  fiir  back,  describe  the 
scene,  when  they  were  opened,  as  like  the  gatherinir,  which  we 
may  sometimes  see  in  our  villages,  of  boys  crowding  around  an 
apple-cart. 

We  may  mention  here  that  so  well  known  and  appreciated 
were  his  attainments  as  a  Gaelic  scholar,  that  when  this  society 
published  their  first  edition,  they  requested  him  to  give  it  a 
careful  revision,  and  mark  any  errors  that  he  might  observe. 
We  find  the  following  in  a  letter  from  the  Secretary,  under 
date,  2.5th  September,  1810  : 

"  You  will  oblige  the  Committee  by  sending  to  me  your  list 
of  errata  in  the  Gaelic  Bible,  by  a  spring  packet,  and  should 
any  others  be  afterward  observed  by  you,  the  list  of  them  may 
follow." 

He  accordingly  examined  it  with  great  care,  and  made  a 
considerable  list  of  errata,  as  appears  from  the  following  ex- 
tract of  a  letter  written  about  the  year  1812  : 

"The  above  list  is  doubtless  incomplete.  Few  of  the  errata  will  dis- 
turb a  common  reader.  If  I  observe  more,  I  will  mark  them.  In  two  or 
three  instances  I  was  guided  only  by  my  own  knowledge  of  the  language. 
Eccl.  xii.  6,  and  Isa.  li.  6,  seem  wrong  in  the  first  edition,  and  tliough 
it  is  pretty  evident  that  they  are  typographical  mistakes,  yet,  as  I  would 
wish  no  dependence  to  be  had  on  my  judgment,  I  would  like  these  in- 
stances to  be  referred  to  better  judges.  There  is  another  erratum  which 
I  have  marked,  in  about  300  places,  and  I  doubt  not  but  it  occurs  much 
oftener;  for  it  is  so  small  that  it  was  long  before  I  noticed  it.  It  is  an 
apostrophe,  which  in  certain  situations  stands  for  the  possessive  pronoun 
/»'.»,  and  is  i)laced  before  the  word  with  which  the  possessive  agrees.  It 
is  a  late  in)provement,  and  useful,  but  many  readers  will  not  notice  it.  In  the 
London  Edition  it  is  omitted  oftener  than  it  is  printed,  before  the  Pro- 
verbs;  but  after  that  book  I  observed  one  omission  only.  I  have  made  a 
separate  list  of  these." 

From  an  early  period  too,  he  began  to  raise  subscriptions 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  883 

among  his  people  for  the  promotion  of  the  objects  of  the  society. 
We  find  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Institution,  acknowl- 
edging a  letter  from  him  of  4th  of  June,  1809,  enclosing  a  bill 
for  £80  sterling,  and  referring  also  to  one  previously  sent  for 
£04.  These  sums  were,  doubtless,  in  part  sent  as  payment  for 
copies  of  the  Scriptures  sold,  but  old  persons  recollect  that 
about  the  year  1808  or  1809,  he  called  on  them,  and  having 
set  before  them  what  the  Institution  was  doing,  appealed  to 
them  for  a  contribution,  to  promote  its  objects,  which  they 
gave.  So  that  a  portion  of  these  remittances,  we  cannot  say 
how  much,  was  given  as  a  free  contribution. 

At  length  after  a  consultation  among  the  brethren  it  was  re- 
solved to  form  a  society,  for  the  more  efficient  carrying  out  of 
the  objects  of  the  institution,  and  a  meeting  was  held  at  the 
West  River  for  the  purpose.  He  preached  on  the  occasion  from 
2  Thess.  iii.  1. — "  That  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  have  free 
course  and  be  glorified."  The  following,  which  contains  a  rough 
sketch  of  the  first  part  of  his  sermon  on  the  occasion,  may  be 
worthy  of  preservation  : 

"That  tlic  word  of  the  Lord  might  have  free  course  and  be  g-lorified  was 
ihe  great  desire  of  tiie  apostle  Paul.  To  tliis  end  all  his  endeavours  were 
directed,  for  he  knew  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone  were  able  to  make 
sinners  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  This  is 
the  river  that  makes  glad  the  city  of  our  God,  and  it  was  the  desire  of  the 
apostle,  that  it  might  flow  in  an  even  channel  gladdening  the  nations  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  word  of  the  Lord  has  free  course  when  in- 
stead of  being  neglected  or  opposed,  it  is  rightly  received  as  tiie  saving  and 
sanctifying  truth  of  God;  and  it  is  glorified,  when  its  life  and  power  arc 
displayed  in  the  humble,  holy,  and  lovely  conversation  of  true  believers. 
Such  a  conversation  glorifies  the  word,  &c.  No  other  cause  is  adequate 
to  produce  such  an  effect. 

"  We  all  ought  to  imitate  Paul  in  his  strong  and  active  zeal  to  give  free 
course  to  the  word  of  the  Lord.  Our  zeal  must  be  languid  indeed,  if  it  is 
not  animated  and  encouraged  by  the  present  appearance  of  Providence. 
Who  does  not  rejoice  at  the  strong  and  rapid  course  which  is  given  to  the 
word  of  the  Lord  in  our  d,iy,  especially  since  the  formation  of  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  ?  How  great  things  has  it  done  in  a  few  years  ! 
What,  a  grand  prospect  does  it  open  to  our  view  !  and  who  would  not  wish 
it  a  thousand  times  stronger  than  it  i?,  that  it  might  circulate  the  Scrip- 
tures    *     *     among  the  hundreds  of  millions  who  inhabit  the  globe  ? 


384  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

"To  give  you  a  clearer  idea  of  the  propriety  of  formingr  ourselves  into  a 
Bible  Society,  that  we  may  have  tlic  honour  of  contributing  a  share  in  help- 
ing forward  the  work  of  the  Lord,  we  shall,  I.  give  you  a  general  idea  of 
the  course  which  the  word  of  the  Lord  has  to  run,  II.  What  is  now 
doing  to  give  it  a  course,  and  III.  some  encouraging  considerations. 

"The  Scriptures  themselves  sliow  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  must  have 
a  course  till  it  reaches  tlie  ends  of  tlic  earth.  God  hath  given  Christ  the 
Heathen.  All  tlie  ends  of  the  earth  shall,  &c.  All  kings  shall  serve  him, 
Hab.  ii.  14;  Mnl.  i.  11. 

"God  has  divided  the  earth  into  four  grand  divisions,  Europe,  Asia, 
Airica,  and  America.  Tiirec  of  these,  Euro|)e,  Africa,  and  America,  are 
supposed  to  contain  in  round  numbers,  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  each, 
and  Asia  five  hundred  millions.  Wc  would  not  vouch  for  the  accuracy 
of  these  computations,  but  they  may  serve  the  jiurpose.  It  is  probable 
that  there  are  more  Jews  and  Mahometans  in  Europe  than  there  are  Chris- 
tians in  Asia  and  Africa.  But  supposing  them  equal,  we  have  in  these 
three  divisions  one  hundred  and  firty  millions  of  Christians,  and  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  of  heathen.  Suppose  Americ<i  to  contain  fifty  mil- 
lions of  heathen  and  one  hundred  millions,  pcrliaps  it  were  enough  to  say 
fifty  millions  of  Christians,  then  we  have  a  total  of  seven  Imndrcd  millions 
witliout  a  Bible.  From  the  rescarclies  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 
ciety, it  appears,  that  in  a  portion  of  the  Russian  empire,  there  are  four  hun- 
dred thousand  families  witliout  a  Bible.  Henee  some  judgment  may  be 
formed  of  other  parts  of  tlie  empire.  In  several  of  the  Provinces,  on  the  Eu- 
ropean continent,  Bibles  are  very  scarce,  partly  by  the  poverty  of  the  people 
(such  poverty  as  we  can  hardly  conceive)  to  which  the  scourge  of  war 
has  contributed ;  and  partly  through  want  of  zeal  and  exertion  in  the 
clergy.  Even  in  England,  Bibles  are  scarcer  than  any  one  would  have 
imagined — Ed.  Rep.  p.  15. 

"  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Bibles  are  more  plentiful  on  the  continent 
of  America  than  in  Europe,  for  the  comparative  disadvantages  of  the  former 
are  great.  Not  to  mention  the  Roman  Catholics,  it  is  well  known  that  the 
Protestants  in  tlie  inland  parts  of  the  continent,  and  in  all  new  settlements, 
arc  in  great  want  of  Bibles.  Even  in  Philadelphia  Bibles  are  very  scarce. 
— Bihh  Report,  p.  50. 

"Thus  it  appears  that  tlie  proportion  of  mankind  which  enjoys  the  Bible 
is  very  small  compared  with  those  who  are  witliout  that  precious  trust. 
Here  then  is  a  large  field  to  be  occupied,  a  long  course  which  the  Bible 
has  to  run." 


A  Society  was  accordingly  formed,  embracing  the  whole 
county,  with  a  committee  of  directors,  consisting  of  so  many 
from  each  congregation.  A  series  of  rules  was  drawn  up  for 
the  management  of  its  affairs.  These  regulations  were  very 
good,  but  they  were  never  carried  out.     The  Society  never  met 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  385 

again,  and  the  comniittoc  held  only  two  or  three  meetings,  and 
with  the  exception  that  members  of  the  committee  acted  as  col- 
lectors in  their  quarters,  the  whole  business  of  the  Society  de- 
volved upon  him.  In  fact  it  used  to  be  said,  that  he  was  the 
Society.  He  was  clerk  and  kept  any  minutes  that  were  kept, 
— he  was  secretary  and  conducted  all  the  correspondence, — he 
was  acting  treasurer,  receiving  the  money  collected  and  making 
all  the  remittances, — he  was  distributing  agent,  and  in  his  own 
quarter  salesman,  and  often  he  acted  as  collector.  Besides  by 
his  fervent  addresses  throughout  the  church,  he  awakened  the 
liberality  of  the  people. 

His  zeal  was  successful.  In  the  first  year  the  sum  of  £75 
sterling  was  raised,  of  which  £50  was  remitted  as  a  free  con- 
tribution, and  £25  to  purchase  Bibles  and  Testaments.  In  the 
second  year,  £50  was  collected,  all  of  which  was  sent  as  a  free 
contribution.  In  the  third  year,  £75  was  remitted  as  a  free 
contribution.  After  this  contributions  diminished,  but  every 
year  something  was  sent  home,  and  almost  every  year  a  con- 
siderable number  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  were  imported. 

To  give  an  idea  of  his  addresses  we  shall  insert  here  part  of 
the  rough  draft  of  one  of  them  : 

"  Tliey  have  roused  the  shimbering  zeal  of  Christians  far  and  wide,  and 
animated  them  to  act  with  surprising  encrg-y  in  the  grand  undertaking. 
Pious  people  never  looked  upon  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  with 
indifference,  but  probably  not  one  even  of  its  founders  ever  expected  to  see 
it  an  object  so  universally  interesting,  as  it  already  appears.  It  was  a 
voluntary  association  of  private  individuals.  It  may  do  a  considerable 
good  (they  probably  thought,)  but  at  home  it  is  not  very  hard  for  any  one 
thnt  wislies  it  to  get  a  Bible,  and  abroad  they  can  have  no  influence  to 
achieve  any  thing  very  miglity.  But  the  Society  received  daily  accessions 
of  strength,  and  their  transactions  became  daily  more  interesting,  people's 
hopes  were  more  and  more  raised,  and  new  assistance  poured  in  from  all 
quarters.  They  undertook  to  publish  twenty  thousand  Gaelic  Bibles,  ten 
thousand  Gaelic  Testaments,  for  enlightening  the  benighted  Highlands  of 
Scotland,  and  the  same  number  in  Welsh,  for  the  benefit  of  Wales,  and 
they  remitted  several  considerable  sums  to  Germany,  Switzerland,  Russia, 
&.C.,  for  distributing  Bibles.  By  and  by  they  began  to  send  parcels  of 
Bibles  abroad  to  several  of  the  Eastern  nations  in  their  own  tongues,  and 
also  to  the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  to  the  British  colonies ;  and  at 
home  they  have  poured  their  treasures  into  the  laps  of  the  poor. 
33 


386  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

"  And  what  was  much  more  than  all  the  rest,  they  published  many  letters 
from  their  correspondents  abroad,  giving'  a  most  affecting  account  of  the  state 
of  the  Continent  for  want  of  Bibles,  and  tiie  eager  desire  of  many  to  get  them, 
and  joy  at  receiving  them,  and  their  gratitude  to  the  people  who  so  cared  for 
tlicir  souls.  These  accounts  touclicd  the  licurts  of  British  Christians;  and  as 
the  committee  approved  themselves  men  of  most  vivid  zeal  and  energy,  as  well 
as  unspotted  integrity,  tliey  gained  the  entire  confidence  of  the  public.  Hence 
we  need  not  wonder,  that  their  funds  increased  with  unexampled  rapiditj'. 
The  idea  of  Auxiliary  Societies  was  taken  up,  and  they  are  already  multi- 
plied to  two  hundred.  These  provided  for  the  wants  of  their  respective 
vicinities,  and  eased  the  parent  society  of  a  considerable  part  of  their  bur- 
den,  which  was  very  requisite  on  account  of  the  great  increase  of  business; 
and  each  auxiliary  poured  its  own  tributary  stream  into  the  main  river  of 
the  funds.  There  are  also  a  kind  of  sub-auxiliaries  or  brancli  societies, 
consisting  of  smaller  associations  in  country  villages,  contributing  their 
mite  to  the  nearest  auxiliary.  Still  less  than  these,  are  the  penny  societies, 
consisting  most  commonly  of  day  labourers,  and  in  some  instances  of  ser- 
vant maids,  associating  together  and  contributing  a  penny  per  week  each, 
out  of  their  own  scanty  earnings.  Somewhat  similar  to  these  are  other 
associations,  in  some  of  the  larger  towns,  of  persons  whose  narrow  cir- 
cumstances suffer  them  not  to  become  direct  members,  yet  who  are  willing 
to  contribute  according  to  their  circumstances.  In  London  each  member 
of  this  association  commences  with  a  donation  not  less  than  seven  shill- 
ings,  and  continues  to  pay  not  less  than  a  sixpence,  nor  more  than  a  shill- 
ing per  month.  Tims  all  ranks  contribute  with  alacrity.  Of  the  rich 
some  give  fifty,  an  hundred,  nay  a  thousand  pounds  at  once,  others  two, 
three,  five,  ten  guineas  annually.  Scholars  at  school  in  some  instances 
give  a  halfpenny  per  week.  Housewives  give  the  savings  of  their  econ- 
omy, and  ladies  their  rings  and  jewels. 

"  But  it  is  not  in  Britain  alone  that  they  have  auxiliaries.  In  Euro[)e 
there  are  the  societies  of  Stockholm,  Berlin,  and  Basle,  of  great  utility  to 
them  in  publishing  and  circulating  the  Scriptures  in  the  different  lan- 
guages of  Europe.  There  is  in  Ratisbon  a  Roman  Catholic  Bible  Society, 
who  are  publishing  a  fifth  edition  of  the  New  Testament.  The  horrors 
of  war  hitherto  greatly  cramped  the  operations  of  these  societies,  but  peace 
will  return,  and  then  tliey  shall  flourish,  and  perhaps  beget  hundreds  more 
around  them.  The  example  is  followed  with  alacrity  in  the  United  States, 
no  less  than  sixteen  Bible  Societies  having  been  formed  there  more  than 
two  years  ago ;  but  the  demon  of  war  doubtless  hinders  their  multiplica- 
tion and  their  utility  in  a  great  degree. 

"  But  the  most  useful  perhaps  of  all  the  Foreign  Societies  is  the  corres- 
ponding committee  in  Bengal,  not  merely  because  there  tlie  Oriental  trans- 
lations are  carried  on  ;  the  port  of  Calcutta  is  the  annual  resort  of  multi- 
tudes from  all  quarters,  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  affords  opportunities 
of  disseminating  the  Scriptures  far  and  near, 

"  They  have  taught  and  exemplified  the  great  lesson  of  harmony  and 
unanimity.     Never  before  did  the  world  see  a  society  composed  of  persons 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOIl,    D.D.  387 

from  so  many  dcnoniinalions  of  religion,  unanimous  in  the  prosecution  of 
one  design.  Never  before  did  llic  world  sec  a  society  so  favoured  and  sup- 
ported by  all  parties  of  the  religious  public.  Who  would  not  be  pleased 
to  sec  above  two  thousand  persons  from  the  various  religious  denomina- 
tions about  London,  assembled  in  one  apartment,  to  devise  and  consult 
about  giving  free  course  to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  witiiout  a  word  of  dis- 
pute, but  with  smiles  of  love  and  joy  in  every  countenance?  By  circula- 
ting tlic  Scriptures  without  note  or  comment,  they  have  exactly  hit  the 
point,  which  secures  unanimity  ;  for  though  Christians  cannot  agree  about 
tlie  meaning  of  Scripture,  tiiey  all  agree  tiiat  the  Scripture  is  the  word  of 
God,  and  infallible  truth  showing  the  way  of  salvation.  Therefore  all  are 
desirous  of  its  universal  circulation.  The  Scripture  is  a  rallying  point  for 
Christians.  What  will  they  agree  about  at  all,  if  they  agree  not  to  circu- 
late the  Scriptures  without  any  other  limits  than  those  of  the  earth  1 

"  But  the  Bible  Society  is  said  to  be  tlie  occasion  of  much  difference  in 
opinion,  which  leads  to  controversy,  which  again  leads  to  bitterness  and 
strife.  This  is  an  accusation  we  did  not  expect,  and  we  hope  it  cannot  be 
proved.  People  very  fond  of  disputing  will  find  occasion  to  do  so,  when 
none  is  given.  We  ask  what  real  occasion  does  the  circulation  of  the  pure 
word  of  God,  which  is  the  sole  business  of  Bible  Societies,  afford  for  dif- 
ference of  opinion,  controversy,  strife,  or  bitterness.  An  avaricious  man, 
who  cannot  part  with  his  money,  seeing  his  neighbour  subscribe  liberally 
feels  himself  condemned,  and  must  in  self-defence,  abuse  tlie  Society.  A 
peevish  churchman,  who  cannot  bear  to  sec  a  dissenter  distribute  a  Bible, 
or  vice  versa,  must  in  like  manner  inveigh  against  it;  so  must  all  clergy- 
men, whose  people  disregard  their  public  warning  against  it,  and,  follow- 
ing the  dictates  of  their  own  conscience,  give  it  their  countenance  and 
support,  but  in  all  such  cases  the  Society  is  innocent.  One  may  venture 
to  say,  that  there  is  little  disputing  of  this  sort  in  the  Diocese  of  Bristol, 
in  the  Diocese  of  Durham,  and  others,  because  in  these  places,  the  Bishops, 
the  clergy,  the  laity,  the  dissenters,  are  all  of  one  mind  to  promote  the  cir- 
culation of  the  Bible.  In  Scotland,  no  controversy  has  been  heard  of, 
because  all  go  one  way  in  this  cause.  But  we  are  sure  of  a  controversy 
in  this  Province,  for  the  people,  especially  those  of  the  Churcii  of  England, 
are  plunged  into  it  by  a  warning,  a  strange  warning  tiiat  professed  to 
guard  against  it.  Many  of  these  will  not  obey  that  warning,  because 
their  hearts  arc  full  of  sympathy  for  the  poor  Christians  in  Europe,  who 
caimot  procure  a  Bible,  and  for  the  poor  heathen,  who  know  not  that  there 
is  a  Bible,  and  they  contribute,  "  according  as  God  hath  prospered  them." 
Many  others  will  choose  to  follow  the  dictates  of  their  spiritual  guides, 
and  leave  their  fellow  creatures,  without  making  any  effort  for  their  relief 
But  there  would  be  no  disputes  in  this  Province,  unless  with  a  few  peevish 
individuals,  which  would  not  affect  the  public,  had  Doctor  Inglis  addressed 
the  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  to  the  following  purpose: 

Members  of  the  Church  of  England: — Like  others  we  have  been 
negligent  to  a  fault  in  circulating  the  Scriptures.  We  have  too  long  left 
the  millions  of  heathens  in  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  lying  in  darkness 


388  MEMOIR   or   THE 

unpitied,  unrelieved.  Millions  more  of  our  fellow-Protestants  and  others 
on  tlie  Continent  of  Europe,  unable  tlirougii  poverty  and  oppression  to  ob- 
tain a  Bible,  we  have  left  too  long  to  languish  without  its  consolations. 
There  arc  multitudes  in  our  mother  country,  and  not  a  few  in  this  Prov- 
incc,  who,  notwitlistanding  the  exertions  of  the  Society  for  promoting 
Christian  knowledge,  are  still  destitute  of  the  sacred  Scriptures.  But 
God  is  now  rising  to  visit  the  world  in  mercy,  and  to  send  his  salvation  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  by  means  of  a  society  in  London,  which  extends  its 
branches  thoughout  tiie  United  Kingdom,  for  the  simple  and  grand  purpose 
of  giving  the  Bible  to  all  mankind.  They  have  already  made  the  Scrip- 
tures more  plentiful  throughout  the  British  dominions,  and  through  all  the 
kingdoms  of  Europe;  they  have  expended  above  JE6000  in  translating 
the  Scriptures  into  the  language  of  Asia,  and  they  have  in  contemplation 
to  extend  as  soon  as  possible  the  same  boon  to  the  Africans  and  tiie 
American  Indians.  It  is  the  glory  of  our  mother  country  to  have  given 
birth  to  this  peerless  society.  May  it  be  the  glory  of  our  clmrch  to  be  its 
greatest  support.  Brethren,  let  us  no  longer  earn  the  wo  doomed  to 
"  those  who  are  at  ease  in  Zion."  Let  us  rise  and  help.  Let  us  draw  out 
our  souls  to  those  our  poor  neighbours.  Let  each  cheerfully  contribute 
his  mite  according  to  ability.  Whatever  other  burdens  we  have  to  bear, 
we  shall  not  be  less  able  to  bear  them,  that  we  engage  heartily  in  this 
work  of  the  Lord.  If  we  altogether  hold  our  peace,  deliverance  and  en- 
largement will  arise  from  other  quarters,  but  we  must  be  under  the  dis- 
pleasure of  God  for  refusing  our  help.  Brethren,  it  is  pleasant  to  join  with 
our  fellow-creatures  of  all  religions,  in  a  work  so  evidently  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  happiness  of  mankind. 

"Ministers  of  the  Church  of  England,  your  countenance  I  confidently 
expect.  You  will  not  only  excite  your  people  to  this  duty,  but  you  will 
set  them  the  example  of  a  liberal  contribution.  Providence  is  bountiful  to 
you.  Imitate  his  bounty,  by  helping  to  circulate  the  Bible  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

"An  address  in  this  spirit  would  more  become  a  clergyman  and  a  Chris- 
tian, would  tend  to  peace  and  harmony,  in  support  of  the  Bible  Society, 
and  in  all  probability,  would  not  lessen,  but  increase  the  collections  for  the 
Society  for  promoting  Christian  knowledge;  ftr  the  public  mind  would 
naturally  expand  to  meet  his  generous  disposition,  whereas,  now  it  will  as 
naturally  contract  with  his  narrow  views.  It  is  sufficiently  ascertained 
that  the  liberality  of  the  public  grows  along  with  the  increase  of  societies 
for  the  public  good." 

The   following   is  one   of  his   own   outlines   of  another   ad- 
dress : 

Benefits  of  the  Bible  Society. 

1.  It  gives  the  Bible  to  many  at  home  and  abroad,  who  otherwise  would 
not  have  it. 

2.  It  strengthens  the  zeal,  the  prayers,  and  the  comforts  of  its  friends. 


KEV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  389 

3.  It  produces  unanimity,  reconciliation,  and  love  among  Christians, 
lliat  were  alienated  from  one  another. 

4.  It  enlarges  Christian  acquaintance,  being  productive  of  much  corres- 
pondence between  Cliristians  at  home  and  abroad. 

5.  It  gives  opportunity  to  individuals,  who  otherwise  would  not  have  it, 
of  doing  good  by  the  little  pittance  which  tiicy  can  spare. 

().   It  affords  an  honourable  employment  to  individuals  by  ])rinting. 

7.  It  softens  the  horrors  of  war,  giving  to  enemies  the  best  of  gifts. 

8.  It  strengthens  other  societies,  as  the  Missionary  and  Religious  Tract 
Societies. 

9.  It  produces  other  societies,  as  the  Society  for  supporting  Gaelic 
Schools, — schools  in  Ireland,  &c. 

10.  It  may  be  a  lengthening  out  of  the  national  prosperity. 

These  extracts  will  serve  to  show  his  interest  in  the  institu- 
tion. In  fact  his  whole  soul  was  thrown  into  the  efforts  on  its 
behalf.  Its  annual  reports  he  read  with  an  almost  childish  de- 
light, his  own  contribution  was  always  liberal,  and  he  early- 
taught  his  children  to  contribute  their  offerings.  Indeed  he 
seemed  to  have  it  ever  before  his  mind.  When  others  would 
propose  plans  involving  what  he  deemed  unnecessary  expense, 
his  reply  would  be  a  proposal  of  a  way  to  save  the  money,  adding, 
*'  and  we  can  give  it  to  the  Bible  Society."  '*  It  is  truly  gratify- 
ing to  me  to  hear  of  the  Hibernian  Society,  and  the  circulating 
Gaelic  schools.  Both  institutions  are  most  likely  to  be  very 
beneficial  to  ignorant  souls.  But  oh,  the  Bible  Society !  how 
matchless,  how  salutary  !  Gathering  strength  as  it  moves  on, 
discovering  and  dispelling  darkness  and  misery.  Surely  this  is 
the  marvellous  work  of  God." 

To  this  zeal  we  believe  may  be  attributed  the  fact  that  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  has  always  been  supported 
more  liberally  in  this  county  than  in  any  other  county  of  the 
Province. 

But  while  the  Bible  Society,  above  all  other  institutions,  en- 
gaged his  sympathies,  his  attention  was  by  no  means  confined 
to  it,  and  the  efforts  which  he  made  on  behalf  of  the  other  mis- 
sionary undertakings  of  the  day,  show  him  to  have  been  a  man 
not  only  quite  abreast  of  the  age,  but  in  his  views  and  desires 
far  ahead  of  that  portion  of  the  church  in  which  he  was.  The 
33* 


390  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

first  efforts  of  this  kind  that  we  shall  notice,  though  the  meas- 
ure did  not  originate  with  him,  was  raising  money  to  send  home 
to  the  parent  church,  to  defray  the  expense  of  preachers  com- 
ing to  this  country.  Previously  congregations  that  were  va- 
cant had  raised  money  to  pay  the  passage  money  of  preachers, 
but  an  effort  was  made  now  by  the  Presbytery,  and  the  congre- 
gations having  settled  ministers,  to  raise  money  to  repay  the 
Home  Synod  for  past  advances  as  well  as  to  relieve  tliera  from 
any  future  expenses.  The  following  account  of  the  effort  is 
from  the  Christian  Magazine,  for  1809  : 

By  letters  received  from  Nova  Scotia,  we  learn  that  in  the  course  of 
last  year,  a  motion  was  agitated  in  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Pictou,  to 
apply  to  the  General  Synod  for  more  preachers.  Against  tliis  proposal 
an  opposition  was  started  by  some  of  the  members,  and  Mr.  MacCulloch  in 
particular,  declared  that  he  would  consider  it  as  his  duty  to  protest,  un- 
less a  general  application  were  first  made  to  their  own  congregations,  to 
repay  the  Synod  at  least  a  small  part  of  the  sums  they  had  advanced  on 
behalf  of  that  country.  He  could  see  no  reason  why  they,  in  tiiat  Prov- 
ince,  without  either  taxes  or  war,  and  some  of  tlicm  in  affluence,  sliould 
not  concur  with  others  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel.  It  was  accord- 
ingly agreed  that  they  sliould  attempt  to  establish  a  small  fund  for  tlie  ad- 
vancement of  religion  by  various  means  ;  and  desirous  of  contributing 
their  own  share  to  so  good  a  work,  and  to  set  their  people  an  example, 
they  began  by  laying  a  considerable  assessment  on  themselves.  The 
members  of  Presbytery  were  then  appointed  to  lay  the  views  of  tlie  Court, 
every  one  before  his  own  congregation,  and  appeal  to  their  benevolence. 
This  was  accordingly  done,  and  their  people  instant!}'  and  very  generously 
acceded  to  their  views.  The  tliree  congregations  in  the  district  of  Pictou 
have  collected  about  JE160  currency,  or  about  i^l44  sterling.  The  return 
had  not  been  made  from  two  ministers  who  lay  at  a  considerable  distance, 
but  it  was  not  expected  to  be  so  much.  In  Pictou  they  have  had  a  very 
great  trade  last  year,  which  has  made  money  more  plentiful  than  ever  it 
was  before,  and  enabled  them  to  contribute  so  liberally  for  the  propagation 
of  the  gospel.  On  account  of  the  expense  attending  the  first  settlement  of 
a  minister,  they  have  not  applied  to  Mr.  Gordon's  congregation  in  Prince 
Edward  Island. 

At  last  meeting  of  Presbytery,  it  was  agreed  that  the  .£100,  that  is  X90 
sterling  should  be  remitted  to  the  Synod.  Mr.  MacCulloch  has  accord- 
ingly transmitted  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ferrier,  Paisley,  the  first  part  of  a  bill  of 
exchange  for  this  sum.  The  Presbytery  would  gladly  have  transmitted 
more,  if  it  could  have  been  done  without  interfering  with  their  other  plans. 
Mr.  MacCulloch  trusts,  however,  that  their  remittances  in  future  will  be 
both  more  regular  and  more  abundant  than  formerly. 


REV.    JAMES    MACUREOOR,    D.D,  391 

The  Presbytery  of  Pictou  are  also  desirous  that  some  standing  commit- 
tee were  apjroiiitod  by  the  Synod,  as  a  medium  of  eonimunication  between 
them.  Tliey  wish  to  be  made  aequaiiitcd  with  Synodical  oceurrences, 
and  are  willing  to  pay  for  a  regnlar  report;  and  they  think  also  that  it 
might  tend  to  the  advancement  of  religion  among  them,  were  the  Synod 
at  a  little  more  pains  to  ascertain  their  real  situation. 

Another  subject  which  had  for  years  engaged  the  attention 
of  the  brethren,  was  the  obtaining  ministers  to  supply  the  spir- 
itiTdl  destitution  around  them.  The  inadequacy  of  the  supply 
from  Scotland,  after  repeated  and  earnest  applications,  had  led 
them  to  consider  the  propriety  and  practicability  of  training 
ministers  in  this  country.  As  early  as  the  year  1805,  it  was 
proposed  to  establish  an  institution  for  that  purpose,  and  a  so- 
ciety was  formed  for  its  support.  Subscriptions  were  accord- 
ingly taken  throughout  the  county.  We  have  before  us  the 
list  on  the  East  River,  which  is  headed  by  Doctor  MacGregor, 
with  a  subscription  of  £20,  "  provided  the  Harbour  congrega- 
tion pay  me  the  sixteen  pounds  which  they  owe  me."  Others 
follow  with  subscriptions  of  £10.  Writing  on  the  31st  October 
of  that  year,  he  says  : 

"The  increasing  demand  for  ministers  seems  to  intimate  the  necessity 
of  raising  them  in  this  country.  The  great  expense  of  every  thing  here 
renders  this  undertaking  next  to  hopeless  in  our  circumstances,  yet  Mr. 
MacCulloch,  who  started  the  idea,  has  sanguine  hopes.  Picfou  people 
have  subscribed  about  JEIOOO,  a  more  liberal  subscription  than  they  were 
well  able  to  pay.  We  expect  some  money  from  the  Province  Treasury,  if 
we  give  our  seminary  a  little  name,  as  not  rivalling  the  University  which 
Government  has  established.  We  expect  great  assistance  from  Britain 
and  Ireland.  We  intend  to  send  Mr.  MacCulloch  home  to  beg.  I  fear 
it  will  produce  but  few  ministers  in  my  day,  but  I  do  not  think  it  improper 
to  make  a  beginning,  for  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  will  succeed  by  de. 
grees  and  be  very  beneficial  to  posterity." 

The  project  did  not  succeed  at  that  time,  but  we  find  from 
several  of  his  letters  that  it  was  not  lost  sight  of.  From  the 
following  extracts,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  measure  was  still 
kept  in  view,  and  that  something  was  done  toward  it,  by  pla- 
cing promising  young  men  under  the  instruction  of  the  members 
of  Presbytery,  and  by  raising  funds  to  aid  and  support  them. 


392  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

Thus  writing  to  Mr.  Gilfillan,  under  date,  4th  December,  1810, 
he  says : 

"  We  have  no  hope  of  an  adequate  supply  of  ministers  to  tlie  church  here, 
from  the  Synod.  Our  plan  must  be  to  raise  ministers  for  ourselves,  and 
yet  our  ability  is  so  small,  that  we  have  little  hope  of  success  for  a 
good  while  to  come.  We  have  begun  as  low  as  possible.  Mr.  Ross  has, 
at  present,  a  young  lad  begun  to  learn  Latin,  with  a  view  to  the  ministry. 
Wc  think  we  could  find  finances  for  carrying  on  four  students  at  a  time,  if 
tlieir  parents  would  help  moderately.  But  we  hardly  expect  to  find  stu- 
dents for  some  time.  Tiie  tiling  is  new  here.  Our  plan  is  to  appoint 
one  of  ourselves  to  teach  them  the  languages,  and  in  place  of  lectures  on 
philosophy,  to  collect  a  small  library  of  books  in  history,  and  the  most 
useful  sciences,  make  them  read  these,  and  help  them  by  frequent  exam- 
ination and  directions  to  get  as  good  a  view  of  them  as  wc  can,  and  per- 
haps a  few  lectures  on  Divinity.  To  accustom  them  to  compose,  we  mean 
to  give  them  subjects  of  discourse  from  time  to  time,  beginning  at  an  early 
period  and  continuing  all  along." 

Again  he  says  in  writing  to  Dr.  Keir,  under  date,  6tb  Octo- 
ber, 1814  : 

"We  are  also  contemplating  the  formation  of  an  Academy  at  Pictou,  for 
the  purpose  of  general  learning,  and  especially  of  raising  a  ministry  among 
ourselves.  We  already  feel  that  Scotland  cannot  provide  for  us,  and  we 
doubt  not  it  will  be  less  and  less  able  in  all  time  coming.  Want  of  min- 
isters has  already  lost  Cumberland  to  the  Presbyterians,  Miramichi  to  the 
Secession,  and  Halifax  to  the  Antiburghers.  For  the  same  reason  Mcrigo- 
mish  and  Shubenacadie  are  still  vacant,  and  other  congregations  prevented 
from  coming  into  existence. 

"  But  an  Academy  is  a  matter  of  such  magnitude,  that  we  do  not  well 
know  how  to  think  of  beginning  it.  However,  it  must  be  begun  some  time, 
and  we  think  it  better  to  do  something,  though  we  are  weak,  hoping  that 
Providence  will  befriend  it,  and  cause  it  to  grow,  rather  than  leave  all  to 
another  and  richer  generation,  lest  that  might  be  losing  the  opportunity  of 
it,  perhaps  wholly.  We  think  that  if  we  had  funds  for  maintaining  two 
good  Professors,  we  might  hope  they  would  send  forth  good  scholars  in 
different  departments.  We  would  need  JE400,  if  not  iJBOO  annually,  as 
salary  to  these;  and  a  good  sum  for  the  building,  apparatus,  and  library. 
To  raise  money  we  propose  to  have  a  yearly  collection  in  every  congrega- 
tion, to  form  a  society  of  the  most  zealous  friends,  each  member  of  which 
shall  contribute  at  least  twenty  shillings  yearly,  and  we  hope  that  many 
religious  people  will  bequeath  it  legacies  in  tlicir  testaments.  What  other 
helps  Providence  may  provide  I  cannot  say,  but  I  hope  the  best. 

"  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Ross  is  teaching  five  boys  the  Greek  and  Latin, 
with  a  view  to  the  ministry.     To  encourage  people  to  send  their  sons,  the 


REV.    JAMES    iMACGUEaOR,    D.D.  893 

Presbytery  proniiscii  to  give  their  boys  books  and  education  gratis,  and 
they  liave  fulfilled  their  promise  to  the  boys ;  but  they  are  in  debt  to  Mr. 
Ross,  for  tlicy  promised  liiin  thirty  pounds  annually  for  tcaehing.  To 
discharge  this  debt  we  must  make  another  collection  in  our  congregations. 
And  I  am  desired  to  give  Mr.  Pidgcon  and  you  a  broad  hint,  that  a  collec- 
tion will  be  acceptable  from  your  congregations.  I  think  it  reasonable 
they  should  contribute,  for,  hitherto,  they  have  not  been  burdened  with  any 
thing  for  the  ministry.  None  knows  but  the  Island  may  be  the  first  to 
reap  tlic  benefit  of  the  ministers  we  raise.  I  am  to  write  to  Mr.  Pidgeon, 
but  you  and  he  may  consult.  I  have  been  too  long  in  writing  to  you,  for 
it  would  be  agreeable  to  have  the  collection  this  fall,  but  if  you  find  the 
fall  too  far  gone  before  you  get  this,  you  can  embrace  the  first  opportunity." 

Again  he  writes  to  the  same  brother,  under  date,  31st  Au- 
gust, 1815  : 

"  I  much  wonder  that  I  have  never  heard  from  you  since  I  saw  you. 
This  is  the  third  letter  from  me  to  you.  Along  with  one  of  them,  I  sent 
you  and  Mr.  Pidgcon  a  parcel  of  tracts,  Gaelic  and  English,  which  I 
know  not  whether  they  reached  you  or  not.  In  one  of  these  I  informed 
you  tliat  we  have  five  students  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Ross,  coming  for- 
ward to  the  ministry.  I  likewise  gave  you  a  hint,  that  the  Presbytery  ap- 
pointed a  collection  to  be  made  in  all  their  congregations,  and  that  they 
expect  you  Island  ministers  would  make  it  in  yours.  Of  course  I  did  not 
hear  that  you  had  made  it.  The  design  of  it  is,  partly  to  indemnify  Mr. 
Ross  for  his  trouble,  and  partly  to  buy  books  for  the  boys  to  encourage 
them.  Providence  has  been  very  kind  to  us,  giving  us  peace  and  plenty, 
while  our  neighbours  have  had  their  friends  slaughtered,  their  villages 
burned,  and  their  fields  plundered  by  war.  We  enjoy  a  pure  dispensation  of 
the  gospel,  but  our  posterity  is  like  to  be  destitute  of  it.  God  is  pouring 
out  his  spirit  largely  upon  Christians  of  all  denominations,  almost  all  over 
the  church,  so  that  they  are  making  wonderful  exertions  in  favour  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  Such  considerations  as  these  should  open  our  hearts 
and  the  hearts  of  our  people,  to  contribute  our  mite  to  perpetuate  the  min- 
istry in  the  Church  of  Christ.  If  therefore  you  did  not  make  this  collec- 
tion in  your  congregation,  or  if  you  did  not  receive  the  former  letter,  in 
which  I  mentioned  the  collection,  it  will  be  proper  for  you  to  inform  the 
Session  of  the  Presbytery's  design,  and  intimate  the  collection.  The 
Presbytery  composed  an  address  showing  the  necessity  and  propriety  of 
the  measure.  I  cannot  ( at  least,  at  present)  take  the  trouble  of  tran- 
scribing and  transmitting  this  address  to  you.  But  you  can  compose  one 
if  you  see  it  needful.  The  Presbytery  does  not  expect  great  things  from 
your  congregation,  but  it  is  proper  that  they  should  do  a  little,  that  they 
may  have  a  hand  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  Besides  it  is  possible  that  they 
may  enjoy  the  fruits  of  this  institution,  as  soon  as  any  of  our  congre- 
gations." 


394  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

We  are  not  aware  to  what  extent  these  collections  were  made, 
but  soon  the  academy  was  established,  of  which  we  shall  have 
to  speak  in  a  future  chapter. 

Another  measure  in  which  he  engaged  at  this  time  was  the  cir- 
culation of  religious  tracts.  Having  received  some  Gaelic 
tracts  from  Scotland  he  wrote  the  following  appeal  addressed 
to  the  Secretary  of  the  Edinburgh  Tract  Society  : 

Dear  Sir  : — By  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Daniel  Anderson,  who  was 
lately  a  teacher  in  Edinburgh  and  acquainted  with  you,  I  have  been  in- 
duced to  send  you  these  lines,  the  design  of  wliich  is  to  solicit  your  aid 
and  exertion  to  obtain  a  parcel  of  Gaelic  religious  tracts  for  distribution 
among  our  countrymen  here.  There  are  many  thousands  of  Highlanders, 
formerly  and  of  late,  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  Provinces  and  Islands. 
In  Pictou  there  are  several  thousands  of  Higlilanders,  I  have  sixteen  hun- 
dred  souls  of  them  in  my  congregation,  on  one  river  called  the  East  River 
of  Pictou.  Mr.  Ross  has  a  large  and  scattered  congregation  of  them,  on 
the  West  River  and  Middle  River  of  Pictou.  He  has  indeed  a  consider- 
able number  in  his  congregation  who  do  not  understand  the  Gaelic,  but 
mine  are  almost  all  Highlanders.  Nortli  from  Pictou,  about  twenty  miles 
distant,  lies  Prince  Edward  Island,  formerly  called  St.  John's  Island,  in 
which  there  are  seven  or  eight  thousand  Highland  souls,  of  which  a  con- 
siderable number  are  Roman  Catholics.  These  have  a  Higiiland  priest, 
but  tlie  Protestants  get  no  preaching  in  their  native  tongue,  but  from  Mr. 
Ross  or  mc,  who  visit  them  occasionally.  East  from  Pictou  on  the  shore 
of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  in  this  Province,  there  are  between  three  and 
four  thousand  of  them,  mostly  Roman  Catholics.  Through  a  great  part 
of  this  Province,  tliere  is  a  mixture  of  Highlanders.  Many  are  settled  in 
Cape  Breton  Island,  and  in  tlie  Province  of  New  Brunswick.  Except 
Mr.  Ross  and  me,  there  are  no  ministers  in  all  these  parts,  who  preach 
regularly  in  Gaelic.  There  is  a  Mr.  Farquharson  about  eighty  miles  from 
Pictou,  one  of  the  Tabernacle  preachers  lately  come  out,  who  does  it  occa- 
sionally.  In  this  Province,  the  great  body  of  Roman  Catholics  are  by 
themselves ;  in  Prince  Edward  Island,  they  aire  more  mi.xed  with  Protes- 
tants. Very  few  of  tlie  Roman  Catliolics  are  any  way  desirous  of  rcli- 
gious  instruction,  though  I  believe  they  are  more  diligent  to  put  their  chil- 
dren to  school,  tlian  to  teach  tliein  at  home.  The  Protestants  are  pretty 
diligent  to  educate  (heir  children,  but  education  is  niucli  more  expensive 
here  than  at  lionie,  not  only  because  labour  in  general  is  higher  priced,  but 
because  the  population  is  so  tliin  and  the  country  so  wild,  rugged,  and  des- 
titute of  roads,  that  it  is  difficult  to  collect  so  many  in  one  place,  as  is 
sufficient  to  support  a  schoolmaster.  From  this  statement  you  may  easily 
conceive,  tliat  religious  knowledge  cannot  abound  among  our  countrymen 
here.  Many  of  them  are  wofuljy  careless ;  but  they  also  want  opportunity. 
Gaelic  books  arc  very  scarce.     Of  late  we  have  got  a  sufficient  supply  of 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  395 

Gaelic  Bibles  and  Testaments  very  cheap  from  the  Bible  Society  in  Lon- 
don ;  four  iiundred  Bibles  and  six  hundred  Testaments  have  come  to  Pic- 
tou,  and  one  hundred  Bibles  and  four  hundred  Testaments  to  Prince  Ed- 
ward  Island.  We  can  have  more  as  we  need  tiiem.  The  Religious  Tract 
Society  in  London  sent  us  one  thousand  copies  of  Cruhhionn  do'n  Scriob- 
tur,  <JT.,*  which  is  a  sufficient  supply.  We  have  also  a  sufficient  supply 
at  present  of  Mr.  Campbell's  '■'■  Smuaintean  cud  thromacha  muhhas  agus 
fhiil/ingas  an  to  Slamiif/hir.''''\  I  have  also  some  dozens  of  "  Erail  do'n 
C/i'olrt/i  ata  a  fcitheamh  an  ScoUbh  Sabard,"t  I  got  some  years  ago  two 
or  Ihrce  dozen  of ^^ Firi'idnibh  scilleir^ij  and  a  dozen  of"  Watis'  Tearmunn 
do' 11  orinidh,  <j-c.  ;"||  but  they  are  all  gone.  I  have  sent  again  and  again 
to  the  Glasgow  booksellers  for  them,  but  they  never  got  them.  They  would 
be  particul.irly  useful  to  tlie  young  generation.  Other  small  tracts  I  know 
)iijt  ;  duubtless  there  are  large  treatises  of  which  I  have  not  heard.  If  you 
could  have  influence  enough  to  send  me  ten  pounds  worth,  and  one  half 
of  lliem  gratis,  I  would  by  the  first  opportunity  repay  you  tlie  other  five 
])oun(ls.  All  the  later  emigrants  are  poor,  having  had  a  great  sum  to  pay 
for  their  passage,  and  every  thing  to  begin  anew  here ;  and  unless  they  net 
books  for  nothing,  they  cannot  get  them  at  all.  I  would  be  much  obligt'd 
to  yon  if  would  take  the  trouble  of  sending  me  a  list  of  all  the  Gaelic  books 
published  within  these  twenty  years,  and  a  copy  of  each  religious  book 
except  the  above.  Is  there  a  dictionary  published  besides  Shaw's  ?  If 
tiiore  is,  wliat  is  the  price  of  it?  What  bookseller  in  Glasgow  deals  most 
in  Gaelic  books,  for  it  is  most  convenient  for  us  to  deal  with  Glasgow  ?  I 
have  written  to  Mr.  J.,  for  a  parcel  of  English  tracts.  I  understand  that 
he  has  the  success  of  the  gospel  at  heart;  you  will  be  good  enough  to  con- 
sult him.  I  hope  you  and  he  will  be  able  to  do  something  for  those  dis- 
persed in  this  wide  wilderness,  and  though  men  should  not  pay  you,  God 
will  not  forget  such  a  labour  of  love;  you  will  direct  to  nic  to  the  care  of 
Mortimer,  Liddel  &.  Co.,  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia. 

Praying  that  the  grace  of  the  Lord    may  abound  toward  you,  I  remain, 
Yours,  sincerely, 

James  MacGregor. 

P.  S.  Is  '■'■  AUdne's  Earail  dhurach  dach,'''**  m  print? — perhaps  it  may 
be  preferable  to  send  us  a  considerable  variety  of  tracts  or  books,  rather 
than  a  great  number  of  copies  of  a  few  sorts. 

Upon  this  appeal  the  Committee  remark  in  the  Christian 
Magazine  for  March,  1810  : 


*  A  portion  cf  Scripture. 

t  Campbell's  Thoughts  on  the  Sufferings  and  Death  of  Christ. 

X  An  Address  to  the  Children  who  attend  Sabbath  Schools. 

?  Plain  Truth. 

I  Watt's  Help  for  Youth. 

**  Alleine's  Alarm  to  the  Unconverted. 


396  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

The  above  letter  has  lately  been  received  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Edinburgh 
Tract  Society,  and  was  taken  in  consideration  by  their  Committee,  who 
have  resolved  to  send  to  Doctor  MacGregor,  a  number  of  copies  of  the 
only  Gaelic  tract  published  by  the  Society.  But  as  they  conceive  the  im- 
portance of  the  case  demands  greater  aid  than  the  present  state  of  their 
funds  can  furnish,  it  was  judged  proper  to  solicit  subscriptions  from  those 
approving  of  the  measure,  for  the  special  purpose  of  printing  and  distribut- 
ing  gratis  a  selection  of  good  tracts,  in  the  Gaelic  language.  The  Society 
arc  already  in  possession  of  translations  of  several  of  tlicir  tracts,  and  can 
easily  procure  others,  when  necessary.  The  only  tiling  wanted  is  means 
to  defray  the  expense,  and  for  this  they  look  to  the  friends  of  religion. 
Whatever  sum  the  Society  is  entrusted  with,  shall  be  faithfully  devoted  to 
that  purpose. 


As  the  result  of  this  appeal,  the  Committee  sent  him  at  least 
one  grant  of  tracts,  for  gratuitous  distribution,  to  the  number 
of  five  thousand  in  Gaelic  and  eleven  hundred  in  English,  the 
receipt  and  disposal  of  which  is  thus  described  in  a  letter  from 
him  dated  20th  Nov.,  1812: 


Your  letter  of  July  31st  came  duly  to  hand,  and  the  Gaelic  and  English 
tracts  without  any  damage.  Permit  me  to  say,  that  I,  and  many  others 
here,  are  under  special  obligations  to  the  Religious  Tract  Society  lor  their 
exertions  on  our  belialf.  Having  received  a  few  Gaelic  tracts,  sent  by  the 
Rev.  Alexander  Stewart,  now  in  Dingwall,  I  thought  they  must  have  been 
published  by  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  and  that  tliey  must  have  had  a 
variety  of  others,  besides  those  I  had  gotten.  Had  I  known  the  real  state 
of  matters,  1  certainly  would  not  have  troubled  the  Society,  for  I  could 
not  have  hoped  that  they  would  have  been  at  the  pains  to  translate  tracts 
for  our  sakes.  But  now  I  sec  the  wise  and  gracious  hand  of  God  over, 
ruling  the  matter  for  the  good  of  my  countrymen,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
I  have  already  distributed  the  greatest  part  of  the  tracts  ;  I  have  given 
one  of  each  kind  of  the  Gaelic  tracts  to  every  family  in  my  own  congrega- 
tion,  even  to  the  families  who  cannot  read  them,  upon  their  promising  to 
employ  a  ncigiibour  visiting  them,  or  a  traveller  lodging  with  tliem,  to  read 
them. 

I  have  also  sent  to  Mr.  Ross  a  copy  for  every  family  in  his  con- 
gregation. I  have  sent  parcels  to  five  different  settlements  at  a  considera- 
ble distance  within  the  Province;  a  large  parcel  to  Prince  Edvcard  Island, 
and  a  few  to  one  settlement  in  Cape  Breton  :  and  I  intend  to  send  more 
after  them  by  the  first  opportunity.  With  regard  to  the  English  tracts,  I 
find  that  a  faithful  distribution  of  them  is  a  matter  of  greater  difficulty 
tlian  I  expected  ;   fijr,  on    the  one  hand,  people  who  are  beyond  the  reach 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  397 

of  ministers  have  clearly  most  need  of  them,  and  there  are  plenty  of  such 
people  here ;  but  among  tliese  tlieru  is  more  danger  of  tlicir  lying-  by 
unused.  On  the  other  hand,  though  those  that  arc  within  reach  of  their 
ministers  have  less  need  of  tlicm  because  they  have  the  benefit  of  preach- 
ing, yet  tiicy  arc  more  desirous  of  them,  and  to  appearance  the}'  will  im- 
prove tliem  better.  I  am  often  at  a  loss  what  to  do;  however,  I  have  not 
yet  absolutely  refused  any  that  applied.  I  mean  to  distribute  them  all 
gratis ;  but  I  have  been  telling  a  icw  of  my  neighbours  who  I  know  arc 
not  poor,  that  we  should  send  some  little  token  of  gratitude  to  the  Society; 
accordingly  I  have  gotten  a  few  dollars,  but  that  generous  spirit  wliieh 
works  so  powerfully  and  so  beautifully  in  Great  Britain,  has  yet  to  awake 
in  tills  quarter ;  and  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  the  many  hindrances  which 
flow  from  the  infant  state  of  the  country  will  prevent  its  awaking,  or,  at 
any  rale,  its  acting  with  vigour  for  a  considerable  time  to  come.  For  my 
own  part,  I  sliould  think  it  an  honour  to  assist  the  zealous  efforts  of  the 
S:jcieties  in  Britain,  for  sending  the  truths  of  the  gospel  among  the  nations  ; 
but,  wlien  I  look  around  I  see  ten  times  more  to  do  than  I  can  do.  For 
one  thing,  there  is  a  continual  demand  for  supply  of  sermon  from  seatfered 
seltlenients  all  round,  that  arc  so  weak  that  tiiey  cannot  support  ministers 
for  themselves.  At  Truro,  about  fifty  miles  distant  from  my  residence, 
we  have  formed  a  Society  which  is  partly  a  Bible,  and  partly  a  Tract  So- 
ciety, our  strength  is  small,  and  we  can  only  say  that  we  have  made  a 
beginning ;  but  I  hope,  through  grace,  that  we  shall  grow  stronger,  and  be 
of  some  benefit  to  the  destitute  people  around  us.  As  to  the  utility  of 
tracts,  I  can  give  no  accounts  of  conversions  occasioned  by  them;  but  I 
have  no  doubt  of  their  great  utility.  They  are  universally  relished  by 
God's  people;  and  this  being  the  case,  they  cannot  but  be  edified  by  them. 
They  contain  the  most  precious  truths  of  the  gospel  expressed  with  force 
and  perspicuity;  there  is  such  a  beautiful  harmony  runs  through  them, 
though  doubtless  they  have  been  composed  at  different  times  and  places, 
that  I  think  they  cannot  miss  being  useful  to  every  one  who  loves  the 
truth.  1  know  likewise  that  they  have  been  useful  to  tlioughtless  and  igno- 
rant persons,  so  far  as  to  make  them  consider  and  reform  in  part,  though 
I  cannot  say  what  the  issue  may  be.  But  though  it  is  desirable  for  the 
Society  to  sec  the  fruit  of  their  labours,  yet,  I  think,  they  may  safely  rest 
their  c:iusc  with  God,  and  say,  "Surely  my  judgment  is  with  the  Lord, 
and  my  work  with  my  God." 

But  it  was  uot  in  America  alone  that  his  countrymen  were 
the  objects  of  his  solicitude.  He  heard  with  deep  interest,  of 
every  effort  made  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  Highlanders 
in  Scotland.  His  sympathy  with  such  measures  will  appear  by 
the  followins:  draft  of  a  letter,  written  in  1814,  to  a  friend  in 
Scotland,  which  was  accompanied  with  a  contribution  of  j660 

sterling  to  the  Gaelic  School  Society. 
U 


398  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

A  Mr.  Ferguson,  North  Bridge,  liaving  a  commission  to  send  me  some 
religions  tracts,  sent  me  also  some  reports  of  societies,  and  particularly 
the  report  of  tiic  Society  for  supporting  Schools  in  the  Highlands  and 
Islands  of  Scotland.  The  more  I  consider  this  Institution  the  more  I  am 
filled  with  admiration  at  the  divine  goodness  toward  my  jioor  countrymen. 
1  take  this  to  be  the  most  merciful  Providence  that  ever  bellll  Ihem,  unless 
periiaps  the  plenty  of  ministers  among  them.  Notwithstanding  the  min- 
isters, multitudes  of  them  continue  to  this  day,  in  almost  heathen  dark- 
ness. But  I  hope,  however,  that  now  a  light  is  getting  in  among  them, 
that  will  enlighten  every  corner  of  the  Highlands,  and  that  shall  shine 
unto  the  last  day.  I  think  it  my  duty  to  aid,  as  much  as  I  can,  the  efforts 
of  tiiis  truly  honourable  and  benevolent  Society.  I  have  gone  round 
among  my  friends  and  neighbours,  and  collected  more  than  I  expected, 
though  less  than  I  wish.  I  request  you  to  give  it  to  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Society.  Mr.  Mortimer  is  at  present  in  Halifax  at  the  Assembly.  As 
my  collection  was  not  ready  when  he  went  away,  I  agreed  with  liim  to 
send  this  letter  after  him,  and  that  he  should  enclose  a  draft,  for  the  sum 
upon  some  of  his  correspondents  in  your  favour.  I  send  a  list  of  the 
donors'  names  with  the  sums  given  by  each,  that  they  may  be  published 
in  the  Society's  report.  My  main  design  herein  is  to  stir  up  backward 
Highlanders  at  home,  and  many  places  abroad  where  the  reports  may 
come,  to  follow  their  example.  Doubtless  there  are  many  patriotic  High- 
landers and  others  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  and  many  other 
places  on  the  Continent  of  America,  in  the  East  and  West  Indies,  in 
Africa,  &c.,  who  would  cheerfully  aid  the  Society,  if  there  were  proper 
persons  to  solicit  donations.  These  the  Society  may  find.  I  expect  to 
send  you  some  pounds  more  after  some  time,  from  persons  who  cannot 
conveniently  give  it,  and  persons  of  whom  I  cannot  conveniently  solicit 
at  present.  We  mean  to  try  to  set  up  Gaelic  schools  here,  and  ho|)e  to 
get  a  number  of  adults  to  learn.  The  Roman  Catholics  are  not  so  much  in- 
clined to  learn  to  read  Gaelic.  Will  you  be  good  enough  to  request  the 
Committee  or  desire  the  Treasurer  to  send  me  eighty  Gaelic  books,  &c-, 
on  credit,  till  I  can  sell  them,  or  otherwise  find  the  means  to  pay  for  them  ? 
I  expect  a  parcel  of  tracts  from  the  Religious  Tract  Society,  and  if  you 
contrive  that  the  Gaelic  Spelling  books,  &c.,  if  they  are  given,  and  the 
tracts  should  be  sent  off  together,  it  would  be  a  favour.  May  the  Lord 
keep  his  powerful  and  good  hand  about  these  great  and  good  Societies  in 
Britain,  calculated  to  give  "free  course  to  the  word  of  the  Lord  that  it 
may  be  glorified." 


Besides  these  we  find  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Lon- 
don Society  for  promotinp;  Christianity  among  the  Jews,  dated 
15th  May,  1S15,  acknowlediring  the  sum  of  £11  17s.  sterling 
as  a  contribution  to  its  funds,  from  the  females  in  Pictou. 

Nor  was  there  any  thing  of  sectarian  feeling  in  the  interest 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREQOR,    D.D.  399 

with  whicli  he  regarded  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kin<idom.  lie  rejoiced  particuhirly  in  those  institu- 
tions, in  which  Evantrelical  Cliristians  of  different  denomina- 
tions might  unite.  He  watched  with  interest  the  labours  of 
the  missionaries  of  other  names,  weeping  with  them  in  their 
trials  and  rejoicing  in  their  success.  This  was  particularly 
manifosted  when  tidings  of  the  labours  and  trials  of  Judson 
fell  upon  the  ears  of  the  Church.  He  then  gave  a  practical 
exliibition  of  his  sympathy  with  them,  by  laying  the  matter 
before  the  benevolent  in  his  congregation,  and  the  result  was  a 
contribution  of  £50  to  the  Baptist  Mission  in  Burmah. 

The  facts  and  documents  just  given  will  be  sufficient  to  show 
the  deep  interest  which  he  took  in  the^Dhristian  enterprises  of 
the  day,  and  his  activity  on  their  behalf.  Such  an  interest  is 
quite  common  now,  but  it  was  far  from  being  so  at  that  time. 
Such  exertions  are  now  expected  as  part  of  the  regular  efforts 
of  the  church.  But  at  that  time,  in  the  church  here  at  least, 
the  interest  of  the  people  in  such  movements  had  to  be  created. 
They  required  to  be  informed  as  to  the  nature  of  such  under- 
takings, and  to  be  instructed  ah  initio  in  the  duty  of  Christian 
liberality.  This  had  to  be  done  under  great  disadvantages, 
from  the  state  of  the  country  as  already  mentioned,  but  also 
from  the  fact  of  many  of  his  people  being  Highlanders,  who 
had  never  been  taught  to  give  in  their  own  country,  either  for 
the  support  or  the  extension  of  the  gospel.  When  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  are  considered,  we  think  that  his  suc- 
cess was  wonderful. 

In  these  efforts  he  was  cordially  supported  by  his  brethren, 
particularly  Mr.  Ross  and  Doctor  MacCulloch;  but  we  believe 
we  do  no  injustice  to  these  brethren,  when  we  say  that  Doctor 
MacGregor  was  yet  the  mainspring  of  all  these  movements.  In 
fact  the  superior  intensity  of  his  zeal  and  activity  in  advancing 
them  was  acknowledged  by  all.  The  following  amusing  inci- 
dent may  illustrate  tlie  extent,  to  which  his  mind  was  absorbed 
by  such  objects.  Returning  from  a  meeting  of  Synod  at  Truro, 
in  company  with  the  brethren  of  the  Presbytery,  they  entered 


400  MEMOIR    OF    THE 

a  house  at  Salmon  River;  and  having  sat  down,  he  fell  asleep. 
Doctor  MacCulioch  having  called  attention  to  the  fact,  Mr.  J. 
Douglass,  elder,  said,  "  If  you  want  to  awaken  him  just  begin 
talking  about  some  religious  society."  Doctor  MacCulioch 
laughed,  but  agreed  to  try,  and  commenced  talking  about  a  so- 
ciety for  founding  schools  in  Ireland.  In  the  midst  of  the  con- 
versation, Doctor  MacGregor  spoke  right  out,  saying,  "  Oh  yes, 
we  ought  to  do  far  more  for  that  society  than  wc  are  doing."  All 
present  burst  into  laughter. 

Many  of  these  measures  originated  with  him,  for  all  of  them 
he  set  an  eminent  example  of  liberality  himself,  and  he  was 
particularly  successful  in  exciting  the  interest  of  the  people 
and  in  collecting  contributions,  so  that  he  was  good  humoiedly 
called  the  "prince  of  beggars."  His  success  arose,  however, 
not  from  any  thing  like  dragooning  the  people,  or  by  pressing 
importunity,  but  from  his  kindly  manner  of  setting  facts  before 
them,  and  especially  from  his  personal  influence.  Such  was 
the  veneration  in  which  he  was  held,  that  in  many  instances  a 
recommendation  from  him  was  sufficient  to  ensure  a  contribu- 
tion. As  the  result  of  his  efforts,  this  portion  of  the  church 
became  distinguished  for  the  promptitude  and,  for  their  cir- 
cumstances, the  liberality,  with  which  they  contributed  to  the 
various  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day,  and  this  character  it 
has  in  a  large  measure  retained  till  the  present  day. 


EEV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  401 


CHAPTER     XIX. 

UNION    AND    DISUNION. 1815-1818. 

"  Behold  how  gooa  and  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  to- 
gether in  unity." — Psal.  cxxxiii.  1. 

"  Mark  them  which  cause  divisions  and  olfences,  contrary  to  the  doctrine 
ye  have  learned,  and  avoid  them.  For  they  that  are  such,  serve  not  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  their  own  belly  ;  and  by  good  words  and  fair  speeches, 
deceive  the  hearts  of  the  simple." — Rom.  xvi.  17,  18. 

The  year  1815  was  marked  by  two  events  of  importance  to 
him.  The  first  was  the  arrival  of  two  fellow-labourers,  one  of 
•whom,  the  Ilev.  William  Patrick,  was  settled  in  Merigomish, 
which  had  hitherto  received  occasional  supply  of  preaching 
from  him.  The  second  was  a  mission  of  several  weeks  to  sonic 
settlements  in  New  Brunswick,  on  the  very  borders  of  the 
United  States.  He  thus  describes  these  events  in  a  letter  to 
the  Rev.  Samuel  Gilfillan  : 

'  This  season  we  have  had  an  accession  of  one  minister  and  one  preacher. 
Mr.  Patrick  came  by  Miramiclii,  three  or  four  hundred  miles  north-west 
from  Pictou.  It  was  once  under  our  inspection ;  but  they  left  us,  because 
we  could  do  nothing  for  them.  They  got  a  Prcshylerian  minister,  who  is 
now  dead.  At  present  they  have  a  Baptist  preacher,  though  they  hold  in- 
fant Baptism  almost  necessary  to  salvation.  Seeing  Mr.  Patrick,  they 
have  put  themselves  under  our  protection  again.  They  will  need  two 
ministers,  and  will  be  a  kind  of  centre  for  the  sending  of  the  gospel  north- 
ward and  southward  for  some  distance.  Mr.  Patrick  got  a  call  from 
Merigomish  very  soon  after  his  arrival  in  Pictou  ;  he  is  now  admitted.  He 
is  about  sixteen  miles  eastward  from  my  house,  in  a  place  where  no  min- 
ister ever  was.  I  hope  he  will  be  a  profit  and  a  comfort  to  me ; — before, 
I  had  no  neiglibour  eastward.  Mr.  Patrick  gets  £150  of  stipend  ;  but  our 
currency  is  one-tenth  less  than  sterling,  which  reduces  it  fifteen  pounds, 
and  deficiencies  of  payment  may  reduce  it  (en  pounds  more,  for  here  the 
payment  is  not  so  good  as  at  home.  The  people  are  to  make  him  a  pres- 
34* 


402  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

sent  of  XlOO  or  jG15n,  to  help  to  build  him  a  house  and  get  nim  a  piece 
of  land.  He  will  have  his  trials;  for  the  people  are  little  acquainted  with 
the  gospel,  fiioug-h  in  our  neighbourhood.  But  there  is  a  certain  pleasure 
in  ministering  tlie  gospel  to  a  wild  and  uncultivated  people,  as  tlieir  cor- 
rupt nature  appears  more  in  its  native  hue,  and  the  fruits  of  a  minister's 
labours  are  more  easily  discerned. 

Mr.  Crow  is  appointed  to  supply  Mr.  Dick's  congregation  during  the 
winter.  This  congregation  is  now  to  be  divided  into  two,  as  it  is  too  ex- 
tensive for  one  man  ;  it  will  be  sufficiently  so  for  two,  for  a  piece  is  to  be 
added  to  each  end.  We  will  need  another  minister  immediately  for  the 
other  part  of  that  congregation,  otherwise  it  will  be  extremely  difficult  for 
us  to  dispose  of  Mr.  Crow. 

1  was  last  summer  a  voyage  and  journey  of  400  miles  upon  a  missionary 
excursion  to  Passamaquoddy,  on  the  west  border  of  New  Brunswick  Pro- 
vince. I  was  called  by  about  forty  families  of  Highlanders,  who  went 
there  twelve  years  ago,  and  have  had  no  public  ordinances  which  they 
could  understand.  I  was  away  six  Sabbatlis, — two  on  the  way,  one  go- 
ing and  one  coming,  and  two  with  them.  1  dispensed  both  sacraments  to 
them  with  great  pleasure.  You  would  wonder  to  see  how  regular  tiiey 
are.  They  meet  every  Sabbath  for  reading  and  praying  in  public ;  they 
meet  every  second  Monday  for  prayer  and  religious  conference.  A  cler- 
gyman of  the  Church  of  England,  about  sixty  miles  distant  from  them, 
and  whom  few  of  them  understand,  baptizes  their  children.  They  are 
300  miles  from  any  Presbyterian  minister  good  or  bad.  During  the  other 
two  weeks  I  preached  in  a  number  of  pl.iccs  along  the  sides  of  the  B:iy. 
Kxeepting  at  Scoodic  and  St.  Andrews,  where  there  arc  Church  of  En- 
glund  clergymen,  and  which  are  small  sea-ports,  I  had  but  small  audien- 
ces, the  Country  having  been  settled  since  the  peace  of  1783.  Here  I  met 
with  an  old  man,  who  had  been  baptized  by  Ehenczcr  Erskine !  The 
Highland  settlement,  with  the  Presbyterians  and  others  about  Scoodic, 
think  they  could  muster  £100  currency  annually  for  a  minister,  and  that 
they  could  gradually  increase  it,  till  it  should  be  enough.  A  man  who 
could  live  a  single  life  for  some  years  might  do  with  that  sum.  Another 
minister  might  make  out  bj-e-and-bye,  in  another  part  of  the  Bay. 

From  the  time  of  the  induction  of  Mr.  Patrick,  his  home  la- 
bours were  confined  to  the  East  River.  But  in  the  same  year, 
two  churches  were  built  at  the  Upper  Settlement,  one  on  the 
East  Branch  and  the  other  on  the  West.  So  that  he  still  had 
three  places  of  preaching,  and  from  the  increase  of  population, 
the  demands  upon  his  time  and  labour  were  as  clamant  as  ever. 

Of  his  missionary  tour  in  New  Brunswick,  the  following  is 
his  own  account : 

"1815.  I  was  at  different  times  petitioned  and  importuned 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  408 

to  visit  and  aid,  as  I  could,  a  settlement  of  Highlanders,  near 
Scoodic  River,  on  the  very  borders  of  the  United  States.  I 
touk  my  horse  to  Mr.  Creelman's  on  the  Shubenacadie,  about 
fifty  miles,  and  there  I  left  him  till  I  should  return.  There  1 
took  a  passage  aboard  one  of  the  vessels  that  carry  plaster  of 
Paris  to  the  United  States.  She  was  bound  to  Eastport  in  Pas- 
samaquoddy  Bay.  The  captain  engaged  to  land  me  at  East- 
port,  for  he  meant  to  call  there.  His  vessel  was  heavy  laden, 
and  we  had  a  good  deal  of  high  winds  right  ahead.  Every 
wave  overflowed,  and  often  she  seemed  as  if  she  could  never 
recover  herself.  We  had  every  incitement  to  prayer  times 
without  number.  It  pleased  the  Supreme  Ruler  at  last  to  re- 
buke the  wind,  and  to  give  us  a  beautiful  slender  breeze.  We 
came  on  Saturday  afternoon  to  anchor  beside  a  small  settlement 
on  the  New  Brunswick  side,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were 
chiefly  builders  of  small  vessels.  I  was  kindly  invited  to  lodge 
at  the  first  house  we  came  to.  I  told  the  landlord  I  would  be 
happy  to  preach  on  the  following  day,  if  they  had  no  minister. 
He  told  me  they  had  none,  and  he  would  warn  them  all,  and 
he  was  sure  they  would  all  gladly  come.  They  came  almost  all, 
and  heard  with  apparent  attention  and  concern.  I  endeavoured 
to  lead  them  to  the  knowledge  of  themselves  and  of  Christ  the 
Saviour.  I  committed  them  to  God,  and  the  word  of  his  grace, 
and  left  them  much  afi"ected. 

"  We  set  sail  by  day-light  on  Monday  morning.  As  we 
sailed  along,  we  wondered  at  the  barrenness  of  the  shore,  for 
scarcely  was  anything  to  be  seen  but  rocks.  When  we  came  oppo- 
site to  St.  Johns,  I  could  not  see  it  distinctly,  we  were  so  far  to 
sea.  Though  we  were  several  leagues  from  land,  yet  when  we 
came  to  the  river,  its  channel  formed  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
ocean  ;  a  large  stream  of  apparently  fresh  water  keeping  its 
course  quite  distinct  from  the  sea-green  on  both  its  sides.  We 
had  a  beautiful  breeze  all  the  way  to  Eastport,  (so  called  as  be- 
ing the  easternmost  place  in  the  United  States.)*     I  got  a  pas- 

*  In  his  memoranda  he  says,  "  Stopped  and  preached  midway  between  St. 
John's  and  Eastport."     So  that  he  seems  to  have  gone  ashore  a  second  time 


404  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

sage  immediately,  in  a  boat  going  to  St.  Andrew's,  sixteen 
miles  distant.  There  I  was  kindly  entertained  and  lodged  by 
Mr.  Pagan,  uncle  to  the  Pagans  in  Pictou.  Next  day  I  hired 
a  boat  to  Scoodic,*  sixteen  miles.  I  landed  ;  and  looking  for  a 
place  to  diue  at,  I  chanced  to  see  one  of  the  Highlanders  that 
sent  for  me.  I  introduced  myself  to  him,  and  he  told  me  he 
had  a  horse  to  carry  me.  We  set  off  with  little  delay.  Word 
of  my  arrival  soon  reached  all  of  them,  and  most  of  them  came 
next  forenoon  to  see  me."}"  Having  come  so  far  to  see  them,  I 
told  them  I  would  do  my  best  for  their  instruction  and  direc- 
tion ;  and  they  must  do  their  best  to  receive  my  instructions, 
and  the  blessing  of  God  along  with  them.  They  said  that  no 
people  needed  instruction  more  than  they;  and  they  hoped  that 
God  had  given  them  some  sense  of  their  need,  and  wculd  give 
them  more  of  it.  They  were  very  eager  to  receive  instruction, 
and  I  wished  to  gratify  them.  I  preached  often,  and  talked 
often  to  them,  in  great  and  small  companies.     In   every  house 

to  preach.  We  have  heard  it  described  as  follows  :  Being  becalmed  near  the 
land,  and  seeing  a  number  of  houses  on  shore,  he  proposed  to  go  ashore  to 
preach.  The  captain  agreed  to  the  proposal  and  offered  to  accompany  hira, 
but  said  that  if  the  wind  should  arise  they  must  start,  although  he  should  be 
in  the  midst  of  his  sermon.  The  Doctor  demurred  to  tliis,  but  said  he  would 
only  preach  one  short  sermon.  They  went  to  the  largest  house  they  saw,  and 
spoke  to  the  occupant.s  about  preaching.  The  man  agreed  to  collect  as  many 
people  as  he  could,  which  being  done,  the  Doctor  preached  to  them.  When 
sermon  was  over,  ho  inquired  if  there  was  any  sign  of  a  wind,  and  there  be- 
ing none  he  went  to  dinner  with  the  man  at  whose  house  he  had  called,  but 
intimated  that  if  there  was  no  wind  in  half  an  hour,  he  would  preach  another 
sermon.  The  half  hour  having  elapsed,  and  there  still  being  no  sign  of  wind, 
he  gave  them  another  discour.se.  lie  had  scarcely  finished  when  a  breeze 
sprung  up,  and  they  set  sail, —  the  captain  remarking,  "It  was  strange  that 
we  Could  not  get  any  wind  till  you  were  done  preaching."  This  may  be  a 
different  account  of  his  former  landing,  but  from  the  variation  in  it  as  to  facts 
we  think  it  a  different  event. 

«  Now  the  village  of  St.  Stephen's. 

•)•  The  place  where  these  people  lived  is  now  called  the  Parish  of  St.  James. 
The  people  are  at  present  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  Rev.  John  Turn- 
bull  of  the  Free  Church.  An  interesting  account  of  their  previous  and  subse- 
quent history  we  have  given  in  the  appendix,  extracted  from  the  Colonial 
Presbyterian.     (  See  Appendix  F.) 


REV.   JAMES    MACOREGOR,   D.D.  405 

I  directed  them  to  faith  in  Christ,  and  holiness  of  life,  and  to 
morning  and  evening  worship  in  the  family  and  closet.  After 
being  two  weeks  among  them,  I  left  them  for  eight  days,  and 
spent  that  time  with  another  settlement  of  the  same  people,  ten 
or  twelve  miles  distant.  As  soon  as  the  Sabbath  was  over,  I 
returned  and  preached,  according  to  an  agreement  made  before 
I  left  them.  At  the  conclusion,  I  intimated  publicly  that  as 
they  had  several  times  expressed  a  desire  to  have  the  sacrament 
of  the  supper  dispensed  to  them,  I  would  do  so  next  Lord's 
diij.  I  informed  them  that  I  would  converse  with  intending 
communicants,  and  help  to  prepare  them  every  day  before  next 
Sabbath,  except  during  the  time  of  public  worship  on  Thurs- 
day and  Saturday.  I  informed  them,  also,  that  none  could  be 
admitted  without  a  certificate  from  Mr.  Morrison.  This  Mr. 
Morriscni  was  a  very  pious  man,  and  very  attentive  to  collect 
them  on  the  Sabbaths,  and  read  to  them,  and  pray  for  them. 

"  The  week  was  spent  in  preparing,  as  well  as  we  could,  for 
receiving  the  sacrament.  A  considerable  portion  of  time  was 
spent  in  secret  prayer  and  self  examination.  On  Sabbath  the 
sacrament  was  dispensed,  and  received  with  a  great  deal  of  sob- 
bing and  tears,  and,  I  hope,  with  no  little  faith  and  love.  The 
people  here  who  came  from  Scotland  knew  the  Gaelic  best,  but 
the  young  generation  born  here  knew  the  English  better;  so  I 
had  to  preach  in  both  languages,  to  accommodate  both.  The 
old  people,  born  in  Lord  Reay's  country,  Sutherlandshire,  en- 
deavoured to  maintain  the  piety  which  they  saw  at  home  ;  but 
many  of  the  young  forgot  the  Gaelic,  and  had  all  their  know- 
ledge by  the  English. 

"  On  iMonday  I  preached  in  Gaelic  and  English,  and  bade 
them  farewell.  A  number  of  them  came  to  me  after  sermon, 
and  told  me  they  could  not  bid  me  farewell  till  they  heard  me 
preach  another  sermon;  and  their  plan  was,  not  to  det;iin  me 
there,  but  to  go  along  with  me  to  Scoodic,  and  get  me  the  En- 
glish church  to  preach  in,  and  that  after  sermon  we  would  part 
affectionately.     I  could  not  refuse  my  agreement  to  this. 

"  Next  morning  we  set  off.     There  were  between  twenty  and 


406  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

and  thirty  horses,  all  but  mine  carrying  double.  "We  readily 
pot  tlie  church,  :ind  all  the  Hijihiariders  got  in;  a  number  of 
the  town's  people  got  in  too.  I  had  to  explain  that  the  first 
sermon  must  be  in  Gaelic,  and  the  second  in  iMiglish.  Some 
of  the  English  pcMiple  .«;tayed  in  all  the  time  of  the  Gaelic.  I 
preached  to  the  Highlanders  on  2  Cor.  xiii.  11,  and  dismissed 
the  congregation;  and  preached  in  English  on  Gal.  vi.  14. 
Two  young  men,  who  had  been  hearing  me,  requested  to  go 
along  with  me  eight  or  ten  miles,  and  that  I  should  preach  to 
them." 

The  narrative  abruptly  terminates  here.  From  his  own 
memoranda  we  learn  that  he  preached  also  at  St.  Andrew's,  re- 
turning; and  that  he  also  preached  at  Digdcguash.  This  is  a 
long  settlement  stretching  along  the  river  of  that  name.  The 
people  were  originally  Highlanders.  He  preached  twice  on  the 
same  day  in  different  parts  of  the  settlement. 

He  returned  home  by  way  of  St.  John.  We  have  not  heard 
of  his  preaching  there,  but  we  have  heard  of  efforts,  while  there, 
though  unsuccessful,  for  the  good  of  an  unfortunate  man,  named 
Mad.,  whom  he  had  known  in  Pictou.  The  man  had  shot 
another  who  had  become  bail  for  his  appearance  at  court,  on  the 
latter  going  in  company  with  the  sheriff,  to  make  him  a  prisoner. 
Macl.  was  taken  up  and  tried,  but  through  some  legal  defects 
in  the  proceedings,  was  detained  for  some  time  in  jail,  till  a 
general  jail  delivery  which  occurred  at  the  time  gave  him  his 
liberty.  During  his  imprisonment  he  seemed  affected  by  his 
situation,  and  every  Sabbath  sent  a  request  for  the  prayers  of 
the  church.  But  on  obtaining  his  freedom,  all  his  concern 
passed  away.  On  meeting  the  Doctor  in  St.  Johns,  he  treated 
him  very  kindly,  but  on  the  latter  endeavouring  to  awaken  him 
to  serious  reflection,  he  found  him  quite  hardened.  He  talked 
very  earnestly  with  him  for  some  time,  but  to  no  purpose.  The 
man  afterwards  killed  another  in  a  passion,  and  was  executed, 
we  believe  summarily. 

On  his  way  returning  home  he  preached  at  Shubenacadie, 
we  believe  spending  a  Sabbath  there. 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREQOR,   D.D.  407 

We  must  now  turn  to  an  important  event  in  the  history  of 
tlie  cliurch  hero,  in  which  he  wa.s  deeply  interested,  and  in 
■which  he  bore  a  prominent  part,  viz.,  the  union  of"  the  Presby- 
teries in  the  Province  into  one  body.  We  have  .seen  tliac  lie 
had  refused  to  unite  with  the  otlier  }-*resbyterian  ministers 
alrca<iy  labouring  in  the  colony.  This  he  did,  we  Imve  no 
doubt,  partly  from  the  strength  of"  the  party  feelings  which  he 
had  brought  with  him  from  Scotland,  but  partly  from  conscien- 
tious objections  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Presbytery,  and  cer- 
tain things  in  the  conduct  of  its  members.  As  we  have  seen 
considerable  irritation  had  been  produced  by  the  controversy 
which  followed. 

But  the  principal  parties  concerned  had  passed  away  some 
years  before,*  and  any  feelings  that  had  been  excited  had  sub- 
sided, and  though  there  was  no  union,  nor,  from  the  strict  views 
then  entertained  on  the  subject,  any  communion,  yet  the  min- 
isters of  the  two  Presbyteries  lived  on  the  most  friendly  terms. 
It  is  but  justice  to  add,  that  neither  party  attempted  to  intro- 
duce among  their  people  the  peculiarities  that  divided  Presby- 
terians in  Scotland.  The  direction  of  the  Antiburgber  Synod 
to  Doctor  MacGregor,  that  he  was  sent  not  to  make  Seceders, 
but  Christians,  was  faithfully  followed  by  him.  It  is  remark- 
able how  little  the  fathers  of  our  church  did,  in  the  way  of 
teaching  their  people  the  differences  between  the  several  Pres- 
byterian bodies  in  the  mother  country.  There  is  in  consequence, 
now,  we  might  almost  say,  a  discreditable  ignorance  among  them, 
in  reference  to  questions  which  have  agitated  the  church  there. 
As  to  any  party  feeling  that  may  have  remained  among  the 
ministers,  a  longer  residence  in  the  country  enlarged  the  sphere 
of  their  vision,  and  showed  them  the  folly  of  maintaining  a 
separation,  on  questions  of  merely  local  interest,  and  which  had 
no  connection  whatever  with  the  state  of  the  church  here. 
The  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed  —  the  fewness  of 
their  number — the  felt  need  of  counsel  and  co-operation — as 
well  as  their  distance  from  the  scene  of  controversy  and  the  ex- 
*  Mr.  Smith  died  in  1795,  and  Mr.  Cock  in  ISOo. 


408  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

citinp;  causes  of  division,  tended  to  draw  them  more  closely  to- 
gether. 

The  members  of  the  Presbyteries  had  formerly  met  to  con- 
sult on  measures  of  common  interest,  and  to  some  extent  had 
co-operated  in  promoting  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  But  now 
it  was  felt  that  an  endeavour  should  be  made  to  form  a  union 
without  the  sacrifice  of  principle  on  either  side.  One  measure 
that  is  said  to  have  had  an  important  influence  in  bringing  it 
about,  was  the  Academy  which  was  at  this  time  projected. 
The  greatness  of  the  undertaking,  and  yet  the  pressing  call  for 
such  an  institution,  in  consequence  of  the  deficient  supply  of 
ministers  from  abroad,  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  any  who 
might  have  hitherto  held  back,  the  necessity  of  combined  effort 
for  its  establishment  and  maintenance.  We  have  no  particular 
account  of  the  negotiations  for  union.  The  following  extract 
of  a  letter  from  Doctor  MacGregor  to  Doctor  Keir,  seems  to 
describe  the  first  steps  taken  toward  the  object : 

"The  principal  occurrence  that  has  Imppened  among'  us  since  I  saw 
you,  is  tlie  ordination  of  Mr.  John  Casscl,  and  liis  settlement  at  Windsor 
and  Newport.  He  comes  from  Fife,  studied  at  St.  Andrews,  and  was 
licensed  by  our  Presbytery  bere.  He  had  a  call  from  Merigomish,  and 
Sbubenacadie  meant  to  call  liim,  but  came  behind.  His  salary  is  .£200, 
and  he  preaches  day  about  at  Windsor  and  Newport.  I  do  not  rciiienil)cr 
the  exact  distance  between  the  two  places  of  worship,  but  I  tiiink  if  is  not 
above  six  miles.  This  cong-reg-ation  is  an  extension  of  the  bound.s  of  our 
church.  We  should  pray  often  and  earnestly  for  its  prosperity,  as  it  may 
be  a  means  of  extending  the  kingdom  of  Christ  into  the  western  part  of 
the  Province. 

"We  are  here  contemplating  an  union  of  all  the  Orthodox  Presbyterian 
clergy  in  the  Province,  as  the  best  plan  for  extending  and  perpetuating 
the  church  here,  and  especially  a  gospel  ministry.  The  orthodox  clergy, 
beside  our  own  body,  are  at  present,  Graham,  Waddcll,  Dripps,  Robson, 
Munroe,  and  Forsyth.  Waddcll,  Robson,  and  For-^yth,  met  with  us  at 
Windsor,  at  Casscl's  ordination,  and  we  had  a  conversation  on  tlie  subject. 
Little  was  done  but  to  appoint  a  Committee  to  draw  up  articles  of  agree- 
ment, and  to  desire  all  tlie  ministers  to  write  to  tlie  Committee  what  help 
they  criuld.  I  tliink  that  the  Committee  are  Mr.  Ross,  Mr.  Waddcll,  and 
Mr.  MacCulloch." 

We  have  no  documents  describing  the  progress  of  the  nego- 


RKV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  409 

tiations,  but  it  is  universally  understood  that  Doctor  MacGregor 
was  one  of  the  warmest  advocates  of  the  measure.  It  might 
be  supposed  by  some,  from  the  manner  in  which  he  refused  on 
Ills  first  arrival  to  unite  with  the  same  brethren,  that  he  was 
d«:ficient  in  liberality  of  sentiment.  But  this  would  be  to  con- 
found close  views  of  communion  with  a  want  of  Catholicity  of 
spirit.  It  is  quite  possible  to  be  an  advocate  of  tlie  former, 
and  yet  have  the  largest  benevolence  toward  those  from  whom 
wo  may  separate.  This  to  a  considerable  extent  he  illustrated 
from  the  outset.  We  think,  however,  that  he  increased  in  this 
spirit  as  he  advanced  in  years;  at  all  events,  by  nothing  was 
he  more  distinguished  in  his  later  years,  than  by  his  freedom 
from  any  thing  like  narrow-minded  sectarian  bigotry.  Accord- 
ingly he  entered  heart  and  soul  into  the  measures  for  accom- 
plishing the  union,  and  the  late  Doctor  Keir  informed  us,  that 
its  success  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  zeal  as  well  as  Christian 
meekness  of  him,  and  the  Rev.  Hugh  Graham,  of  the  other 
Presbytery,  a  man  of  kindred  spirit. 

As  the  result  of  negotiations  it  was  agreed  to  form  a  union 
on  the  basis  of  their  common  Presbyterianism,  leaving  the  ques- 
tions upon  which  Presbyterians  in  Scotland  differed,  as  matters 
of  mutual  forbearance.  Differences  of  opinion  undoubtedly 
existed  on  minor  points.  These  were  not  overlooked,  they 
were  freely  and  fully  discussed,  but  *'  after  much  consultation 
and  prayer,"  it  was  believed,  that  these  differences  were  not 
such  as  to  hinder  their  union,  more  especially  as  in  this  coun- 
try they  neither  had,  nor  were  likely  to  have  any  practical  im- 
portance. All  the  preliminaries  were  arranged  in  the  year 
1815,  when  the  arrival  of  brethren  from  Scotland,  with  their 
minds  still  heated  by  the  controversies  there,  frustrated  the 
measure  for  a  time.  This  failure  discouraged  for  a  moment  the 
friends  of  union,  but  the  scruples  of  these  brethren  were  at 
length  removed,  and  a  union  embracing  all  the  Presbyterian 
cletgy  and  congregations  in  the  Province,  with  one  exception, 
was  finally  consummated  in  the  year  1817.     In   regard  to  this 

exception,  it  is  said  in  one  of  the  documents  of  the  time,  "  the 
35 


410  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

terms  of  the  constitution  of  that  congregation  forbade  its  union 
■with  any  other  body  of  Christians  whatever.  Its  pastor,  liow- 
ever,  expressed  and  retained  good  will  to  the  United  Church, 
and  continued  in  habits  of  Christian  intercourse  and  friendship 
with  many  of  its  ministers  and  members." 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Synod  of  the  united  body  took  place 
at  Truro,  on  the  3rd  of  July,  1817.  By  the  unanimous  voice 
of  his  brethren  he  was  chosen  moderator,  and  when  he  stood 
up  to  open  the  proceedings  with  prayer,  his  hands  trembled  as 
if  palsied,  and  his  emotion  was  so  deep,  that  he  was  for  a  time 
scarcely  able  to  proceed,  but  quickly  recovering  himself  he 
poured  forth  his  feelings  in  a  prayer,  the  fervency  of  which, 
after  the  lapse  of  more  than  forty  years,  still  lingers  in  the 
memory  of  those  who  heard  it,  To  all  the  brethren,  but  espe- 
cially to  Doctor  MacGregor  and  those  who  survived  of  the  early 
missionaries,  this  meeting  was  a  deeply  interesting  and  afi"ect- 
ing  event.  They  had  long  been  few  and  divided,  and  labour- 
ing amid  many  privations.  Now  they  were  united  and  com- 
paratively strong,  and  they  saw  the  fruits  of  their  labours  in 
flourishing  congregations  gathered  in  the  wilderness.  Before 
them,  too,  were  the  most  encouraging  prospects.  The  fields 
around  were  white  unto  harvest,  the  Academical  Institution,  for 
which  a  charter  had  been  granted  the  previous  year,  held  out 
to  them  the  promise  of  a  supply  of  faithful  labourers  to  reap 
them.  "  Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter  and  our 
tongue  with  singing,  then  said  they  among  the  heathen,  The 
Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  them." 

The  union  thus  happily  formed  was  productive  of  the  best 
efi"ects,  not  only  in  Nova  Scotia,  but  also  in  Scotland.  The 
intelligence  of  its  formation  was  one  of  the  means  which  led  to 
the  adoption  of  measures  for  bringing  about  a  union  between 
the  Burghers  and  Antiburghers  there,  which  was  successfully 
accomplished  three  years  later,  when  these  two  bodies  coalesced 
under  the  name  of  the  United  Secession  Church,  At  home 
the  Synod  immediately  addressed  itself  to  the  great  work  of 
extending  the  gospel  and  sound  Presbyterian  principles.     The 


REV.    JAMES    MACC.REtiOR,    D.D.  411 

principal  business  at  tliis  meeting  was  the  appointment  of  Doc- 
tors MacGregor  and  MacCullocli,  Rev.  Duncan  lloss,  and  Mr. 
John  MacLean,  Ruling  Elder,  as  a  committee  to  bring  in  a 
report  on  "  ways  and  means  for  promoting  religion,"  to  be  given 
in  at  a  meeting  of  Synod  in  October  following. 

The  Synod  accordingly  met  at  the  time  appointed.  Doctor 
MacGregor  preached  the  opening  sermon  from  Neh.  ii.  20. 
"  The  God  of  heaven,  he  will  prosper  us;  therefore  we  his  ser- 
vants will  arise  and  build."  The  report  of  the  Committee,  we 
may  remark,  however,  was  the  production  of  Doctor  MacCulloch, 
was  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  published.  It  is  a  most  valuable 
document,  and  contains  a  great  variety  of  suggestions  for  the 
promotion  of  religion  in  the  church,  securing  its  permanence 
and  enlarging  its  bounds.  These  suggestions  were  approved, 
and  measures  adopted  for  carrying  them  out.  Among  these 
perhaps  the  most  important  was  the  taking  subscriptions  on 
behalf  of  the  Seminary  of  Education  at  Pictou.  Of  this  meet- 
ing Doctor  MacGregor  thus  writes  to  Doctor  Keir  in  November 
of  that  year : 

"  The  Synod  met  on  the  day  appointed,  and  it  was  a  very  agreeable  and 
harmonious  meeting.  Little  business  was  done  except  tlie  approbation  of 
a  long  overture,  prepared  by  Doctor  MacCulloch,  of  ways  and  means  to 
be  used  for  confirming  and  enlarging  the  church.  Among  these  means 
are,  discourses  by  ministers  at  Presbyteries,  subject  to  the  criticism  of  the 
brethren;  some  improvements  in  ministerial  visitation,  and  examination 
of  the  young  generation  ;  the  sending  of  ministers  two  and  two,  to  preach 
the  gospel  gratis,  to  places  destitute  of  it,  at  least  for  some  time,  their  ex- 
penses to  be  paid  out  of  the  Synod  fund  ;  the  founding  of  a  college  in  Pic- 
tou; and  the  getting  a  printing  press  for  the  cheaper  circulation  of  reli- 
gious truth  and  intelligence,  the  money  for  buying  it  to  be  raised  by  volun- 
tary contribution.  N.  B.  If  you  gather  a  little  for  it  on  the  Island,  the 
press  will  probably  be  fixed  in  Pictou,  which  will  be  more  convenient  for 
you  for  getting  religious  intelligence,  than  if  it  be  in  any  other  place. 
Pcnny-a-wcek  societies  are  recommended  for  different  purposes,  one  of 
which  is  the  printing  press.  These  societies  are  an  easy  and  powerful 
engine  for  spreading  the  gospel.  You  should  set  up  one  or  more  of  them, 
and  they  will  collect  money  for  some  good  end.  But  as  the  overture  is  to 
be  published,  1  need  not  be  more  particular,  for  you  will  get  some  copies 
of  it." 


412  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

We  may  remark  here,  that  daring  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
he  felt  a  very  lively  interest  in  all  the  proceedings  of  Synod, 
and  took  a  prominent  part  in  its  business.  He  was  present  at 
every  meeting  of  Synod,  except  the  one  just  previous  to  his 
death.  On  that  occasion  feeling  himself  unfit  to  take  the  active 
part  in  its  business  which  he  had  formerly  done,  he  was  not  in 
any  hurry  going  down  to  Pictou  to  attend.  The  meeting 
proved  a  v<^ry  short  one,  and  on  going  down  to  meet  the  bre- 
thren he  found  that  they  had  just  adjourned.  But  previous  to 
this  his  name  will  be  found  on  almost  every  important  com- 
mittee of  Synod.  From  his  being,  from  the  formation  of  Synod, 
one  of  the  oldest  members,  and  especially  from  his  abundant 
labours  and  apostolic  character,  he  was  regarded  generally  with 
deep  veneration.  In  the  transaction  of  business  he  was  marked 
by  the  spirit  of  love  and  peace,  but  especially  by  an  enthusiasm 
in  support  of  every  measure  for  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel, 
and  of  the  x\cadeiny  as  the  means  of  its  perpetuation. 

At  the  time  of  the  union,  the  Synod  consisted  of  nineteen 
ministers,  besides  the  Rev.  James  Thomson,  who  had  not  been 
inducted.  Three  more  ministers  arrived  that  summer,  the  Rev. 
John  Liddell,  who  was  settled  at  Amherst,  the  Rev.  Andrew 
Kerr,  who  was  settled  at  Economy,  and  the  Rev.  John  Mac- 
Kinlay,  who,  after  teaching  in  the  Pictou  Academy  for  some, 
time,  succeeded  Doctor  IMacCuUoch  in  the  charge  of  the  con- 
gregation of  Pictou  town.  Of  the  latter  Doctor  MacGregor 
says  in  a  letter  to  Doctor  Keir  : 

"Mr.  MacKinlay  is  arrived  at  last,  a  jg^reat  acquisition,  I  believe,  to  our 
church.  He  seems  to  be  an  excellent  man,  of  vig-orous  mind  and  liardy 
body,  a  good  scholar,  a  fine  preaclier  and  a  jrood  Cliristian.  Newport  is 
to  be  di.sjoined  from  Windsor,  and  we  Pictonians  have  destined  liini  for 
Ntnvport.  That  part  of  the  church  seems  to  need  such  a  man,  and  he 
Koems  to  suit  their  need.  Wc  need  also  to  have  a  lenrned  man  in  flic 
ricigiibfuirhood  of  the  colleg'p,  to  support  tlie  credit  of  the  Presbyterians. 
But  Providence  may  not  confirm  our  decrees.  He  is  sent  to  INIrinchester, 
the  two  next  Snhhaths,  and  the  next  two,  to  the  Gut  of  Canso,  if  ho  eun 
find  his  way  to  it,  then  two  to  St.  Mary's,  if  no  call  more  urgent  shall  pre- 
vent him.  If  you  think  that  he  could  be  a  benefit  to  the  Island  during 
winter,  I  suppose  you  could  gel  him  over.     I  request  you  to  write  to  nie 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREQUR,    1>.D,  413 

your  mind  on  this  point,  that  I  may  represent  it  to  the  Presbytery  at  their 
next  meeting'.     He  is  very  willing  to  endure  hardsiiips." 

The  prospects  of  the  united  body  wore  for  a  time  most  fa- 
vourable. The  Academy  had  gone  into  successful  operation, 
and  several  ministers  arrived  from  Scotland,  within  the  two  or 
three  years  following.  At  the  time  of  the  union,  the  Synod 
was  divided  into  three  Presbyteries,  Halifax,  Truro,  and  Pictou, 
and  soon  after  another  was  formed  in  Prince  Edward  Island, 
and  another  in  New  Brunswick.  But  the  fair  prospects  before 
the  Church  were  soon  blighted  by  causes  to  which  we  must  now 
advert. 

"We  have  seen  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  founders  of  our 
church  to  unite  Presbyterians  of  different  names  in  one  body, 
and  that  for  this  purpose  a  basis  was  adopted  in  which  all  could 
cordially  unite,  and  that  at  first  the  measure  was  successful. 
With  a  single  exception,  all  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland  in  the  Province  went  into  the  union.  The  plan  was 
also  cordially  approved  by  some  of  the  best  ministers  of  that 
body  in  the  mother  country.  About  that  time  Doctor  MacGre- 
gor  was  in  friendly  correspondence  with  several  of  its  ministers 
in  the  Highlands,  particularly  Doctor  MacDonald,  of  Ferintosh, 
Mr.  Macintosh,  of  Tain,  Mr.  John  Kennedy,  of  Killearnan, 
and  Mr.  Stewart,  of  Dingwall.  It  is  well  known,  that  these 
men  were  the  pillars  of  evangelical  truth  in  the  North  of  Scot- 
land. In  the  course  of  correspondence.  Doctor  MacGregor  had 
laid  before  them  in  full  the  basis  of  union,  and  the  plans  of  the 
church.  The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Macintosh 
will  show  how  cordially  they  were  approved  by  these  men. 

"  The  details  relative  to  the  state  of  religion  and  irreligion  in  your  part 
of  the  world  arc  truly  affecting.  You  have  much  need  of  daily  supplies 
of  spiritual  wisdom  and  understanding,  and  I  doubt  not  but  your  God  in 
covenant  gives  you  grace  corresponding  to  your  need.  Opposition  in  the 
lath  of  duty  you  may  expect  to  meet  with,  but  you  will  overcome  through 
ilhii  tiiat  loveth  you.  Wlien  you  and  I  think  that  the  stripling  David 
killed  Goliath  in  single  combat,  and  that  infallibility  hath  promised  that 
35* 


414  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

worm  Jacob  sliall  tlirasli  the  monntains  and  beat  them  small,  we  onght  to 
be  courag-eous,  when  most  sensible  of  our  own  weakness  and  of  the  power  of 
our  enemies.  Indeed  it  lias  often  been  a  source  of  encouranrement  to  my- 
self, ti)at  'God  linih  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise,  tStc.'  He  hath  endowed  you  with  gifts  and  graces,  suited  to  the 
important  station,  to  which  he  has  called  you  —  but  it  is  only  in  the 
strength  oi"  tiie  grace  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  tliut  you  can  honourably  pro- 
ceed in  tlic  path  of  duty  and  prosper. 

"  It  rejoiced  my  heart  to  learn  that  you  have  some  worthy  brethren  in 
that  country,  who  unite  with  you  in  forwarding  the  best  of  causes.  Their 
counsel  and  co-operation  will  refresh  and  invigorate  your  soul.  Oh,  may 
you  all  be  of  one  heart  and  one  way  I  You  have  many  adversaries;  but 
that  will  be  expected  by  all  who  know  the  history  of  the  church  of  God  in 
past  ages.  I  have  had  some  very  intemperate  letters  from  men  who  do 
not  approve  of  your  plans  and  principles.  You  may  believe  that  I  made 
no  reply  to  such  communications.  The  writers  do  not  seem  to  be  candid 
and  open  to  conviction, — and  I  had  not  leisure,  health,  or  inclination  to  en- 
gage in  controversy.  Your  statement  of  facts  has  fully  satisfied  my  mind, 
respecting  the  real  cause  of  all  the  opposition  which  you  and  your  serious 
friends  have  met  with.  I  am  grieved  to  learn  that  your  plan  of  union  has 
failed.*  Accounts  of  the  disputes  among  you,  subsequent  to  the  date  of 
your  letter,  were  truly  vexatious  to  me.  1  admire  the  Catholic  and  Chris- 
tian sjjirit  displayed  in  the  attempt  to  unite  evangelical  ministers  and  se- 
rious Christians,  without  making  any  sacrifice  of  principle.  The  plan 
promised  to  be  productive  of  the  happiest  effects,  and  I  hope  it  will  bo 
adopted  at  some  future  period."  t 

The  correspondence,  of  which  the  above  is  a  specimen,  con- 
tinued several  ^-ears.  The  most  of  the  letters  have  peri.slied,  but 
those  familiar  with  them  describe  the  correspondence  as  having 
been  as  interesting  in  its  nature  aa  it  was  Christian  in  its  spirit. 
They  freely  unfolded  to  each  other  their  plans  for  advancing  the 
common  cause,  they  described  their  trials  and  sympathized  with 
each  other  under  them ;  but  they  particularly  rejoiced  to  tell 
of  what  God  had  done,  and  was  still  doing,  in  their  respective 
spheres.  It  has  been  mentioned  to  us,  that  they  resolved  to  fix 
upon  an  hour,  when  both  he  and  they  should  engnge  in  prayer, 
for  the  success  of  the  gospel.  Eight  o'clock  on  Saturday  eve- 
ning was  the  time  agreed  upon.  The  good  men  forgot  to  make 
allowance  for  the  difference  of  time.  But,  no  matter.  Could 
there  have  been  a  more  delightful  exhibition    of  the  spirit  of 

*  This  refers  to  the  failure  in  1815,  already  menlioned. 

t  Before  tLis  letter  was  written  the  union  b.id  actually  takeu  place. 


REV.    JAMES    MACUREOOR,    D.D.  415 

union,  than  tliis  one  proceeding,  or  a  more  impressive  evidence 
of  the  real  union  subsistinj^  between  the  genuine  followers  of 
the  Lamb,  though  separated  by  broad  oceans,  or  what  seemed 
far  more  difficult  to  pass,  the  earth-built  walls  of  sectarian  sepa- 
ration. 

At  that  time,  as  we  have  mentioned,  Pictou  was  rapidly  fil- 
ling up  with  Highland  immigrants.  Those  after  their  arrival 
were  under  the  ministry  of  Doctor  MacGregor  and  his  asso- 
ciates, who  contented  themselves  with  preaching  the  gospel  to 
them,  without  pressing  upon  them  any  of  the  peculiarities  of 
the  secession.  The  secession  was  little  known  in  the  High- 
lands, except  by  unfavourable  report,  and  those  who  came  from 
that  quarter  were  not  only  attached  to  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
but  many  had  a  blind  prejudice,  and  an  ignorant  bigotry  re- 
garding the  ministers  of  any  other  body.  To  accommodate 
them,  it  was  resolved  to  make  an  effort  to  obtain  for  them  min- 
isters from  the  Establishment.  Besides  more  distant  settle- 
ments requiring  pastors,  one  was  needed  between  the  sphere 
of  Mr.  Ross's  labours  on  the  West  River,  and  Doctor  MacGrcg- 
or's  on  the  East.  Accordingly,  it  was  resolved  that  an  effort 
be  made  to  obtain  a  minister  to  be  settled  there,  and  though  the 
old  settlers  and  their  descendants  preferred  the  secession,  they 
were  willing  to  receive  one  whom  Doctor  MacGregor  might 
recommend.  And  as  the  majority,  embracing  the  back  settle- 
ments, preferred  the  Church  of  Scotland,  Doctor  MacGregor  was 
appointed  to  correspond  with  the  ministers  already  mentioned  to 
secure,  if  possible,  for  that  and  other  places,  ministers  of  that 
body,  such  as  they  might  recommend. 

These  ministers  entered  cordially  into  these  views,  and  used 
their  best  exertions  to  carry  them  out.  More  than  once  they 
had  their  attention  directed  to  individuals  preparing  for  the 
ministry,  whom  they  thought  suitable,  but  before  they  were 
ready  to  be  sent,  circumstances  occurred  either  to  prevent  their 
coming,  or  to  prevent  these  ministers  from  recommending  them. 
And,  at  length  they  were  reluctantly  obliged  to  acknowledge 
themselves  unable  to  meet  the  wishes  of  their  brethren  in  this 


416  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

country.  This  will  be  seen  by  an  extract  from  the  letter  of 
]Mr.  Maclntoi^h,  from  which  we  have  already  quoted  : 

"  But,  it  is  time  for  me  to  tell  you  that  Mr.  Stewart  and  I  liavc  not 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  preacher  wliom  we  could  recommend  to  you. 
Far  from  being  indifferent  to  the  great  objects  of  your  letters,  or  insensible 
of  our  own  obligations  to  do  every  tiling  in  our  power  for  accomplishing 
tiiat  object,  we  had  serious  consultations  among  ourselves,  and  witii  seve- 
ral of  our  brethren, — and  wrote  to  the  South  of  Scotland,  enquiring  if  a 
person  possessed  of  the  qualifications  you  describe,  could  be  found  who 
would  accept  of  your  offer, — but  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you,  that  none  has  oc- 
curred as  yet,  that  we  could  send  to  that  part  of  the  Lord's  vineyard. 
Those  that  we  would  think  best  qualified  would  not  leave  their  situations 
in  this  country.  Indeed  we  have  few  preachers  of  any  description  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  But  I  do  not  wish  to  expose  the  nakedness  of  the  land. 
Mr.  Stewart  and  I  have  advised  with  the  most  intelligent  and  zealous 
ministers  in  the  North  of  Scotland, — but  did  not  hear  of  any  that  would 

suit  your  purpose,  and  was  willing  to  go  to  America.     There  is  a  Mr. , 

a  student  of  divinity,  who  offered  himself,  and  expected  to  be  licensed  with 
the  view  of  going  to  that  country,  but  we  declined  to  recommend  him,  un- 
til we  were  better  satisfied  as  to  his  steadiness  and  views  of  church  gov- 
ernment. He  is  recommended  to  us  as  a  serious  young  man,  possessed 
of  respectable  talents,  and  we  hope  that  he  is  so.  But  we  know  that  he 
has  been  reeling  some  years  ago,  and  we  would  think  him  very  ill-suited 
to  your  part  of  the  country,  unless  he  be  steel  to  the  back.  *  *  I  understand 
that  you  have  got  a  Gaelic  preacher  into  some  part  of  that  country  in 
course  of  last  summer  or  harvest.  But  it  is  quite  unnecessary  for  me  to 
say  anything  about  him.  I  hope  that  your  intended  Academy  may 
prosper." 

To  show  how  this  spirit  prevailed  among  his  brethren,  we 
shall  quote  part  of  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  John  Kennedy  of 
Killearnan  : 

"It  is  a  pity  that  the  living  members  of  the  mystical  body  should  be 
separated  by  little  external  differences,  while  they  are  found  holding  the 
head.  I  readily  admit  the  truth  and  force  of  what  you  wrote  of  many, 
who  were  here  members  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  as  ignorantly  holding 
by  her  in  name  when  they  go  over  the  water,  and  so  foolishly  in  the  ex- 
treme fbrfeit  to  themselves  the  inestimable  privilege  of  having  the  gospel 
preaclied  in  other  connections.  I  am  surprised  how  any,  who  really  know 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ,  could  ever  think  of  living  separately  from  the 
spiritual  members  of  your  connection.  Is  it  not  the  same  Christ  that  all 
gospel  ministers  preach?  Is  it  not  the  same  spirit  that  applies  to  all  the 
redemption  purchased  by  Christ,  and  that  carries  on  in  all  converted  sin- 
ners the  work  of  internal  sanctification  ?      Is  it  not  the  same  hope,  to 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  417 

which  nil  quickened  sinners  arc  begotten  by  llic  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Clirist  from  tlie  (lend?  Is  it  not  from  the  same  iiiexliaustiblc  store,  tliat 
all  those  commissioned  by  Christ  to  preach  the  jrospcl,  have  their  provis- 
ion, and  when  it  pleased  him  to  place  tiie  treasure  in  eartlien  vessels,  did 
he  not  reserve  the  cxcelh'ncy  of  the  power  for  himself?  I  regret  that  spir- 
itual believers  should  look  upon  themselves  as  of  Paul  or  of  Apollos.  J 
trust  tliat  things  continue  flourishing  witii  you.  I  trust  that  your  College 
is  in  a  prosperous  way,  and  tliat  it  will  prove  a  thriving  nursery  for  the 
churcii  of  Nova  Seotia.  The  eimreh  in  Nova  Scotia  finds  a  daily  place  in 
my  prayers." 

Well  liad  it  beea  for  the  interests  of  vital  godliness  in 
tbis  Province  if  the  spirit  of  these  men  had  animated  the  other 
ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  That  unhappy  schism 
from  which  Presbyterianism  in  this  Province  has  scarcely  yet 
recovered  would  have  been  averted.  But  from  these  letters  it 
will  be  seen,  that  while  there  was  so  much  that  promised  well 
for  the  extension  of  the  common  cause,  elements  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent nature  were  at  work,  which  were  soon  to  issue  in  a  most 
painful  and  unnatural  strife.  Of  this,  so  far  as  it  affected  Doc- 
tor MacGregor,  we  must  now  give  an  account,  though  we  should 
be  happy  could  the  whole,  with  a  due  regard  to  historic  truth, 
be  buried  in  oblivion.  We  shall  give  a  calm  narrative  of  events, 
stating  the  facts  as  impartially  as  we  are  able,  and  with  as 
much  tenderness  to  the  feelings  of  surviving  relatives  of  persons 
whose  conduct  may  be  impugned,  as  truth  will  allow;  and 
we  shall  as  much  as  possible  employ  the  language  of  others. 
The  following  is  from  Doctor  BlacCulloch's  letters  to  Doctor 
Burns : 

"  At  the  time  that  Doctor  MacGregor  was  eagerly  pressing  forward  in 
his  career  of  benevolence,  his  congregation  and  several  others  around  him, 
were  visited  with  an  inundation  of  Highlanders,  under  the  spiritual  guid- 
ance of  some  of  those  pests  of  the  Highlands,  who  contrive  to  earn  a  sub- 
sistence, not  by  honest  industry,  but  by  travelling  from  house  to  house, 
and  retailing  their  trash,  as  the  devout  saws  of  this  good  minister,  and  that 
pious  old  woman.  Finding  their  ghostly  instructions  neither  prized  nor 
productive  in  Pictou,  tiiey  contrived  to  infuse  into  their  followers  a  spirit 
of  dissatis.'iiction  with  Doctor  MacGregor  and  other  clergymen  around 
him.  These  complained  that  the  ministers  of  Pictou  neither  preached 
the  gospel,  nor  would  prosecute  the  witches,  by  whom  some  of  them  were 
grievously  tormented ;  and  what  was  a  greater  stumbling-block  still,  they 


418  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

found  tliat  in  Piclou  those  who  wish  the  gospel  must  support  its  ministers. 
As  llic  safest  and  clieapcst  course,  tliereforc,  tiicy  withdrew  from  the  pub- 
lic ordinances  of  religion ;  atone  time,  edifying  each  other  in  tlicir  folly, 
and  at  aiiotlier,  receiving  the  ministrations  of  any  strolling  vagabond,  who 
chanced  to  visit  them;  till  from  a  belief  that  a  minister  from  the  Church 
of  Scotland  would  be  paid  by  the  king,  they  obtained  from  the  isle  of  Mull, 
your  Correspondent,  tiie  Rev.  Donald  Frascr,  to  preach  to  them  the  true 
gospel,  and  give  tlie  witches  their  due." 

It  uiay  be  stated  however,  that  the  witches  gave  most  trouble 
in  Mr.  Ross's  congregation.  When  he  refused  his  assistance 
to  put  a  stop  to  their  doings,  two  of  his  church  members  actu- 
ally went  down  to  the  Gulf,  to  secure  the  aid  of  the  Koman 
Catholic  priest,  for  the  purpose.  Mr.  Ross,  at  length,  preached 
a  sermon  on  the  subject,  which  gave  such  offence  that  a  number 
never  went  to  hear  him  again. 

On  the  East  River  the  division  principally  originated  with  a 
man  named  Holmes.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who  make  great 
pretensions  to  superior  sanctity,  but  who,  from  the  circumstance 
of  their  religion  chiefly  manifesting  itself  in  making  loud  and 
long  prayers,  are  regarded  by  some  as  men  of  the  deepest  piety, 
and  by  others  as  unquestionable  hypocrites.  He  had  arrived,  a 
few  years  previous  to  this,  in  poverty,  and  had  been  most  kindly 
treated  by  Doctor  MacGregor  and  his  people.  The  Doctor  per- 
mitted him  to  act  as  a  Catechist  on  the  P^ast  River,  but  would  not 
provide  him  with  pay.  His  labours  in  this  capacity  were  not  gene- 
rally valued;  and  on  several  occasions  his  expositions  of  Scripture, 
and  statements  of  doctrine,  were  disputed  by  men,  who  were 
as  well  informed  on  such  subjects  as  himself.  During  his  vis- 
its round,  he  soon  began  to  give  out  that  they  had  not  the  gos- 
pel in  Pictou,  and  to  endeavour  to  produce  discontentment 
among  the  people  with  their  minister. 

Soon  after  he  left  for  the  United  States,  to  see  a  brother 
there — Doctor  MacGregor  even  collecting  money,  to  help  to 
pay  his  expenses.  After  two  years  he  returned,  complaining, 
that  during  his  absence  he  had  only  heard  two  ministers 
who  preached  the  gospel,  ''  and  they  were  Seceders."  On 
his   return  he  for  a  time  resumed  attendance   upon  Doctor 


REV.    JAMES    iMACOREGOR,   D.D.  419 

MacGregor's  ministrations,  but  very  soon  began  to  excite  dis- 
satisfaction in  the  iiiinds  of  those,  whom  he  could  influence. 
Some  of  those  who  joined  him  had  previously  expressed  them- 
selves higlily  pleased  with  Doctor  MacGregor's  preaching. 
Their  great  fear,  they  said,  in  coming  to  Nova  Scotia  was  that 
tiiey  would  not  hear  the  gospel,  but  they  were  rejoiced  to  find 
that  it  was  as  purely  preached  here  as  in  Scotland.  But  now 
through  Holmes'  representations,  they  were  persuaded  that  the 
gospel  was  not  preached  at  all  in  Pictou.  A  case  of  discipline 
occurring  about  this  time  rendered  him  still  more  dissatisfied 
with  tlie  church  here.  The  party  thus  formed  began  holding 
meetings  of  their  own  on  Sabbath  after  the  Gaelic  service, 
though  many  of  them  understood  English  well  enough  to  have 
attended  service  in  that  language.  After  this  they  sent  to 
Scotland  a  man  named  IMacStephen,  to  get  a  minister  for  them, 
but  the  vessel  in  which  he  sailed  never  was  heard  of* 

We  shall  now  quote  the  words  of  the  late  Alexander  Grant, 
originally  published  in  a  Provincial  newspaper  in  the  year 
1840: 

"  The  Doctor  preached  a  sermon  about  this  time,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  Session — upon  the  13th  verse  of  the  13th  chapter  of  Hebrews.  The 
sermon  was  not  tlie  oceasion  of  dissension,  but  dissension  was  tlie  occa- 
sion of  the  sermon.     A  number  of  illiterate  men  from  the  Highlands  of 

*  A  Mr.  MacKay,  who  afterward  settled  at  New  London,  Prince  Edward 
Island,  and  who  came  out  with  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  party,  but  who 
refused  to  join  in  their  opposition  to  Doctor  MacGregor,  informed  the  Rev.  A. 
MacGillivraj',  that  he  was  the  last  who  parted  from  this  man  on  his  departure. 
He  said  to  him  as  they  parted,  "I  cannot  think  that  you  will  prosper,  and 
I  cannot  wish  you  to  prosper,  for  your  errand  is  not  good.  You  are  going 
home  with  a  falsehood.  You  are  going  to  tell  that  Doctor  MacGregor  does 
not  preach  the  gospel.  It  is  not  true.  I  have  watched  him  and  know  that 
he  preaches  it  as^urely  as  any  minister  in  Scotland.  Besides  this,  the  min- 
isters in  the  North  know  Doctor  MacGregor's  character  and  will  not  believe 
you.  I  have  heard  mini.«ters  of  great  name,  both  in  the  North  and  South  of 
Scotland,  and  I  have  remarked  that  some  were  great  in  preaching  the  law  and 
its  terrors,  and  others  in  preaching  Christ's  love  to  sinners.  I  have  watched 
Doctor  MacGregor,  and  cannot  tell  what  he  is  greatest  at.  He  is  great  at 
every  thing  ho  turns  to."     Thus  they  jwrtedj  and  for  ever  in  this  life. 


420  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

Scotland — men  who  while  at  home  separated  themselves  from  the  com- 
munion of  the  clmreh,  having  become  wise  in  their  own  eye?,  and  deter- 
mined to  refuse  instruction,  bcg-an  to  disturb  this  congregation  by  assert- 
ing tliat  the  Seceders  were  not  Presbyterians  at  all.  Tliose  captious  and 
bigotted  individuals  faulted  the  Doctor  very  much  too,  for  his  reproving 
them  and  others  for  their  foolish  notions  respecting  witchcraft.  The  Doc- 
tor, having  been  informed  of  these  i7iattcrs  by  the  members  of  Session,  re- 
solved, at  their  suggestion,  to  prcacii  a  discourse,  illustrative  of  the  scrip- 
tural constitution  of  tlic  Secession  Church.  This  he  did  from  the  text 
already  mentioned.  This  discourse  did  not  contain  a  single  sentiment  cal- 
culated to  offend  any  reasonable  man.  He  stated  that  all  wiio  entered  the 
cluirch  Contrary  to  the  regulations  establislied  by  Christ,  climbed  over  the 
wall,  and  consequently  were  thieves  and  robbers — that  the  Secession  min- 
isters and  elders  came  in  by  the  door — that  they  were  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple and  ordained  by  the  Presbytery,  in  conformity  with  the  practice  of  the 
apostles  and  primitive  Christians.  It  was  at  this  time,  that  one  of  these 
fault  finders  exclaimed  from  tlie  outside  of  the  church, '  Christ  is  the  door.' 
To  this  the  Doctor  at  the  time  paid  no  attention,  but  proceeded  with  his 
wonted  calmness  in  the  illustration  of  his  subject.  'Some  individuals 
among  you,'  says  he,  '  affirm  tliat  we  are  not  Presbyterians — that  we  liave 
no  Presbytery.  I  can  assure  you  that  we  have  a  Presbytery,  and  such  a 
Presbytery,  as  cannot  be  found  within  tlie  four  posts  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  We  have  a  Presbytery  in  which  there  is  neither  a  minister  nor 
elder,  that  did  not  come  in  by  the  door.  They  have  been  chosen  to  their 
offices  by  the  voice  of  the  people,  and  ordained  in  obedience  to  the  author- 
ity of  the  Head  of  the  Church.  In  the  Church  of  Scotland  there  is  not 
a  Presbytery  in  which  there  are  not  to  be  found  some  members  that  did  not 
come  in  by  the  door.  Ministers,  instead  of  being  chosen  by  the  congre- 
gation, are  often  presented  by  the  patron,  and  the  congregations  are  com- 
pelled to  submit  to  the  patron's  choice,  let  the  qualifications  of  the  presen- 
tee be  what  they  may.' 

"On  the  Monday  after  this  sermon  was  announced,  there  was  a  con- 
gregational meeting,  at  tlie  West  Branch,  at  which  C.  M'L.  was  present; 
under  the  influence  of  a  very  bad  feeling,  tliis  man  stated  that  Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor  in  his  sermon  yesterday  declared  that  there  were,  between  the  four 
posts  of  tlie  Church  of  Scotland,  but  tliieves  and  robbers.  I  at  once  con- 
tradicted the  man,  by  telling  him  that  the  Doctor  never  declared  such  a 
thing;  but  that  he  said  there  was  not  a  Presbytery  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land which  did  not  contain  some  members  that  did  not  come  in  by  the 
door,  that  is  by  the  will  of  the  patron,  without  the  consent  of  the  congre- 
gation.  I  told  him  at  the  same  time  he  would  have  to  account  fiir  what 
he  said.  There  were  men  present  whom  I  called  to  bear  witness.  I  then 
gave  him  up  to  the  Session.  After  some  time  he  appeared,  and  admitted 
that  he  had  spoken  in  the  above  mentioned  manner.  The  Doctor  being 
present,  denied  having  used  such  an  expression.  He  said  that  though 
Christ  was  before  him,  tiiough  heaven  was  on  the  one  side,  and  hell  on  the 
other,  and  that  though  liis  avoiding  the  one  and  gaining  the  other  depended 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  421 

on  the  truth  of  that  statement,  he  would  deny  his  ever  having  made  it — 
that  he  had  as  <rreat  respect  for  ministers  of  the  Cimrch  of  Scotland  as  for 
any  ministers.  C.  M'L.  still  persisted  in  saying-,  tiiat  he  did  iiso  the  lan- 
jjunge.  The  Doctor  then  said,  that  he  would  reler  the  ease  to  the  Presby- 
tery. After  some  time  the  Presbytery  met.  C,  M'L.  appeared  and  en- 
quired of  the  Presbytery  how  they  were  going  to  try  the  case.  Was  it 
liy  witnesses,  or  how  was  it  to  be  tried  ?  He  still  continued  to  affirm  (that 
the  Doctor  had  said)  that  there  were  but  thieves  and  robbers  in  the  Church 
of  Scotland.  The  Rev.  Doctor  replied,  that  he  took  great  liberty  of  speech 
with  the  Church  of  Rome,  that  such  liberty  as  that  he  never  took — mean- 
iiig  that  he  did  not  consider  the  Church  of  Rome  itself  so  destitute  of  true 
Christians  as  to  contain  notliing  but  thieves  and  robbers.  It  was  then  en- 
quired whether  M'L.,  was  a  member  of  the  congregation  or  not.  He  was 
asked  himself  if  he  was  a  member  of  the  congregation — if  he  had  received 
cluireh  privileges;  but  he  gave  no  answer.  The  members  of  Session  then 
stated  that  he  had  received  church  privileges,  and  was  actually  a  member 
of  the  congregation  of  East  River.  He  was  again  asked  by  the  Presby- 
tery if  he  was  a  member  of  the  church,  but  made  no  reply.  Mr.  John 
Douglass,  elder,  then  stated  that  he  was  apprehensive  M'L.  did  not  under- 
stand the  Presbytery.  The  nature  of  the  case  was  tlien  explained  in  the 
Gaelic  language  as  clearly  as  possible  by  Mr.  Douglass,  who  told  him  that 
it  was  a  serious  thing  for  a  man  of  his  years  and  standing  to  be  put  out 
of  the  church.  But  the  only  answer  he  gave  was,  that  if  he  was  in  the 
church  they  could  not  put  him  out,  and  if  he  was  out  of  the  church  they 
could  not  put  him  in.  Having  in  this  matter  refused  to  hear  the  church, 
sentence  of  excommunication  was  passed  upon  him, — not  merely  for  his 
misrepresenting  the  language  of  the  sermon,  but  for  his  obstinacy  in  re- 
fusing to  hear  tiie  church — for  his  wilful  stubbornness  in  refusing  to  an- 
swer the  Presbytery,  whose  authority  he  had  acknowledged  at  a  former 
period.  There  were  present  at  the  same  meeting  many  who  had  heard  the 
discourse  at  which  offence  was  taken  by  M'L.,  but  not  a  man  could  be 
found  to  confirm  his  language.  He  was  then  considered  to  have  misrep- 
resented the  sermon,  and  to  have  stated  what  was  false." 

In  the  summer  of  1816,  there  arrived  a  man  named  Fletcher 
or  Fraser,  who  gave  himself  out  as  a  minister  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland.  His  character  may  appear  from  the  following  ex- 
tract of  a  letter  of  the  E.ev.  Samuel  Gilfillan  : 

"  I  am  truly  sorry  for  tlie  confusions  in  your  congregation.  I  hope  by 
this  time  He  who  stillcth  the  waves  of  the  sea  has  also  stilled  tlie  tumults 
of  the  people.  You  may  tell  them  that  Alexander  Fraser,  Fletcher,  who 
went  among  them  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  of  truth,  is  an  impudent 
liar.  He  never  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Dumblanc.  I  enquired 
at  Mr.  Stirling,  the  parish  minister,  and  he  never  knew  nor  heard  of  such 
u  person.  It  may  still  serve  some  good  purpose  to  state  the  fact,  and  may 
36 


422  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

tend  to  undeceive  a  serious  people.  These  fiicts  liave  more  force  on  some 
mituls  than  the  clearest  reasoning's.  Mr.  MncNab supposes  him  to  be  the 
same  that  some  time  ag-o  sailed  from  Saltcoats,  and  in  order  that  he  might 
pass  for  a  surgeon  to  the  vessel,  stole  a  diploma  from  a  surgeon  in  tlie 
town,  and  having  erased  the  gentleman's  name,  inserted  his  own.  But  the 
trick  was  discovered  bofore  they  set  sail,  and  he  iiad  to  seek  another  sliip 
to  transport  him  and  his  impudence  across  the  Allnntiu." 

The  supposition  of  Mr.  JMcNab  is  undoubtedly  correct,  for 
when  afterward  charged  witli  liaving  acted  as  described,  he  did 
not  deny  tlie  fact,  but  attempted  to  exphiin  it  by  saying,  that 
as  the  law  required  vessels  carrying  luore  than  fifty  passengers 
to  have  a  surgeon  on  board,  he  had  been  rrquci^trd  to  pass  him- 
self off  as  one,  and  for  the  purpose  had  borroiccd  a  diploma,  in 
wliich  he  had  inserted  his  own  name  in  place  of  the  rightful 
proprietor.  Bnt  the  erasure  was  detected,  and  he  had  to  find 
a  passage  in  another  way.  His  change  of  name  he  explained 
in  this  way,  "  About  eighteen  months  previous  to  his  departure 
from  Scotland,  he  borrowed  nearly  £200  from  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance, and  when  he  was  about  coming  away,  he  felt  a  deli- 
cacy in  speaking  about  it  to  his  friend,  from  a  consciousness  of 
being  unable  to  pay  the  money,  and  when  he  came  to  Saltcoats, 
the  port  from  which  he  sailed,  being  near  the  residence  of  his 
friend,  this  delicacy  and  the  fear  of  discovery  led  him  to  assume 
the  name  of  Fraser." 

Such  was  his  own  version  of  the  matter.  But  it  was  of  little 
consequence  to  Holmes  and  his  party  what  he  had  done.  He 
called  himself  Church  of  Scotland,  and  any  enquiries  as  to  his 
previous  character,  or  his  authority  to  preach  the  gospel,  would 
have  been  deemed  entirely  irrelevant.  He  was  immediately 
taken  by  the  hand  by  them  and  by  others  who  had  always  been 
known  as  enemies  of  the  gospel,  particularly  William  MacKay, 

on  the  East  River,  and  a  man  in  town  named  John  C ,  who 

is  described  by  all  that  I  have  ever  heard  speak  of  him,  as  the 
most  awful  blasphemer  they  had  ever  heard,  hence  known 
usually  as  wicked  Johnny,  or  Johnny  the  swearer.  Fletcher 
first  preached  at  Willam  MacKay's,  and  then  in  different  places 
around.     He  is  described  as  having  a  very  engaging  manner 


REV.    JAMES    MACGUEGOR,    U.D.  423 

with  him,  so  tliat  not  merely  the  fnction  already  described,  but 
the  majority  of  the  people  on  the  Upper  Settlement,  even  in- 
cludinji  some  of  Doctor  MacGrcgor's  warmest  friends,  joined  in 
giving  him  a  call.  Of  course  his  previous  character  was  not 
known,  and  it  must  be  said  for  them,  that  what  they  did  was 
done  in  their  siniplicity.  In  their  innocence  they  never  im- 
agined the  possibility  of  a  man  assuming  to  be  a  minister,  who 
had  not  the  right  to  do  so,  and  hastily  taken  with  his  pleasing 
address,  they  were  betrayed  into  the  steps  they  took,  without 
considering  how  their  conduct  would  appear  toward  him,  who 
had  endured  so  many  privations  in  preaching  the  gospel  to 
them. 

We  need  not  say,  that  it  grieved  the  heart  of  the  Doctor  not 
a  little  to  find  himself  thus  forsaken  by  those,  for  whose  spirit- 
ual welfare  he  had  endured  so  much.  He  resolved  to  preach 
to  them  on  his  conduct  to  them  as  their  minister,  and  theirs  to 
him.  He  accordingly  delivered  a  plain  yet  most  affecting  ser- 
mon, on  2  Tim.  i.  15,  "This  thou  knowest  that  all  they  of 
Asia  have  turned  against  me,  of  whom  are  Phygellus  and  Her- 
mogenes."     The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  discourse  : 

"To  hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words — to  keep  that  good  thing  com- 
mitted to  us,  is  much  to  our  credit  and  comfort,  whether  we  be  ministers 
or  private  Christians.  Unstable  persons  are  ready  to  make  shipwreck  of 
faitli.  The  love  of  tlie  world,  of  the  honour  that  Cometh  from  man,  the 
fear  of  disgrace  and  trouble,  and  many  other  causes  contribute  to  this  ship- 
wreck. The  seed  by  the  way  side,  on  stony  ground,  and  among  thorns, 
brouglit  no  fruit  to  perfection.  So  tlie  Cliristians  of  Asia  forsook  Paul, 
when  a  trial  happened  to  him.  But  Paul  lived  and  died  a  faithful  minis- 
ter of  Ciirist.  Sucli  defection  from  faithful  ministers  is  not  uncommon,  as 
might  be  illustrated  from  Scripture  and  Church  History. 

"  1.  Moses  the  man  of  God  was  faithful  in  all  his  house.  From  him 
Israel  revolted  and  appointed  a  captain.  '  As  for  this  man  Moses  we  know 
not  wliat  is  become  of  liiin.'  E.x.  x.K.Kii.  8.  '  They  arc  turned  aside  quickly 
out  of  the  waj',  ifcc' 

"2.  Samuel  was  so  faithful,  that  not  a  sin  of  his  is  mentioned.  Yet 
when  he  was  old,  they  forsook  God  and  him.  Because  his  sons  were  de- 
fective  in  character,  tiiey  must  have  a  king  like  all  the  nations.  'Hearken 
unto  them,  for,  &.C.'   1  Sam.  viii.  7,  8. 

"3.  David  was  a  man  according  to  God's  own  heart.  Yet  the  great 
body  of  the  people  forsook  him,  and  clave  to  Absalom,  till   he  and  a  great 


424  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

number  of  thcin  pcrislicd  in  their  rebellion ;  and  immediately  after  this 
revolt  was  quelled,  another  was  begun  after  Shcba  the  son  of  Bichri. 

"4.  After  Solomon's  death,  when  the  worship  of  God  was  established  in 
beautiful  order,  ten  of  the  twelve  tribes  went  after  Jeroboam,  who  set  up 
the  calves  in  Bethel  and  Dan,  and  made  Israel  to  sin. 

"5.  Jeremiah  was  a  faithful  prophet.  He  laboured  for  forty  years,  to 
show  them  their  sins  and  turn  them  to  God,  but  in  vain,  for  they  ^rcw 
worse  and  worse.  A  thousand  limes  he  declared  God's  promises  and 
threatening?,  but  because  he  touched  their  darling  sins  and  tlieir  false  pro- 
phets, they  could  not  bear  him.  '  Come,  let  us  devise  devices  against  Jere- 
miah, jet  us  smite  him  witl'i  the  tongue,  &c.'  They  put  him  in  the  stocks, 
in  prison,  in  the  dungeon,  and  carried  him  to  Egypt. 

"  6.  Christ  was  *  *  faithful  and  free  of  sin,  yet  many  of  his  dis- 
ciples went  back  and  walked  no  more  with  him.  John  vi.  66,  67.  '  Thou 
art  a  Samaritan.'  '  He  hath  a  devil  and  is  mad,  why  hear  ye  him  ?'  '  Now 
we  know  that  thou  hast  a  devil.'  '  He  casteth  out  devils  by  Beelzebub.' 
A  little  before  his  death,  Luke  xix.  42,  his  very  disciples  forsook  him. 

"  7.  Paul  was  faithful.  He  fought  the  good  fight ;  yet,  1.  All  they  tiiat  were 
in  Asia  turned  from  him.  There  were  many  professors  in  Asia,  but  they 
all  turned  their  backs  upon  Paul,  when  a  little  storm  arose.  2.  Some  re- 
markable persons,  Demas,  Phygellus,  and  Hermogenes.  3.  The  Galutians 
(ch.  i.  6.)  They  received  him  as  an  angel  of  God.  '  They  would  have 
plucked  out  their  own  eyes,  and  given  them  to  him  ;'  but  he  became  their 
enemy  by  telling  them  the  truth.  Ch.  iv.  14-16. 

"  You  have  called  another  minister,  while  I  was  yours.  You  could  not 
lawfully  take  any  minister  good  or  bad,  till  you  were  separated  from  me. 
He  was  brought  here  by  the  enemies  of  the  gospel,  with  a  view  to  over- 
turn  it,  though  he  turned  out  a  condemner  of  them.  You  have  but  a  slen- 
der hold  of  him,  but  for  that  you  cast  me  off— cast  me  off. 

"  1.  Was  it  for  drawing  you  from  the  gospel  when  you  were  cleaving  to 
it  ?  then  repent  not ;  but  if  I  preached  the  same  doctrine  with  Christ  and 
Paul,  and  you  forsake  me,  then  you  forsook  Christ. 

"  2.  Was  it  for  my  bad  example,  walking  in  any  one  point  contrary  to 
the  gospel  ?  then  repent  not. 

"  3.  Did  I '  covet  any  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel  ?'  '  Whose  ox  or 
ass  have  I  taken  ?'  " 

He  also  gave  intimation,  probably  on  the  same  day,  that  at 
the  next  day  of  preaching  at  the  Upper  Settlement,  he  would 
have  something  particular  to  say  to  them,  and  requested  as 
many  to  be  present  as  could  make  it  convenient.  On  this  oc- 
casion, which  was  at  the  West  Branch,  he  delivered  an  address, 
which  he  had  written  down  in  Gaelic.  He  stated  as  his  reason 
for  doing  so,  that  some  were  ready  to  aflQx  to  his  words  mean- 
ings of  their  own,  and  then  to  circulate  these  as  the  words 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D. 


425 


used  by  him.  He  would  therefore  read  what  he  intended  to. 
say,  so  that  if  anything  false  or  any  perversion  of  his  words 
would  be  reported,  it  would  more  easily  be  discovered.  Of  this 
address  we  have  obtained  a  translation,  and  long  as  it  is,  we 
cannot  find  it  in  our  heart,  either  to  abridge  it,  or  to  stow  it 
away  in  the  appendix.      We  therefore  give  it  entire  : 

You  know  that  this  congregation  and  I  have  been  long  united,  (  Ut. 
married  together,)  as  minister  and  people.  There  are  some  of  you  that 
have  not  been  long  in  its  communion  ;  but,  there  are  others  that  were  born 
to  me  as  spiritual  children.  All  that  they  know  about  Christ  and  his 
gosptl  they  learned  it  from  the  ordinances  of  Ciirist,  (  as  administered) 
here;  and  there  are  many  of  tliern  who,  I  hope,  will  be  a  crown  of  rejoic- 
ing to  mc  in  tlic  presence  of  Christ.  This  knowledge  of  God  was  not  ob- 
taincd  without  great  labour,  both  to  me  and  to  such  of  you  as  knew  Pic 
tou  in  times  gone  by.  When  my  labours  here  began,  little  advantage  of  a 
worldly  nature  was  there  to  bind  me  to  the  place.  There  was  an  abund- 
ance of  labour  and  fatigue,  and  many  an  inconvenience — much  enmity 
against  the  gospel,  and  much  obloquy,  without  the  prospect  of  much  re- 
ward, except  the  favour  of  God,  and  tlie  testimony  of  my  own  conscience, 
that  I  was  in  the  way  of  my  duty.  The  friends  of  tiie  gospel  liad  not 
much  to  give,  except  love;  nevertheless,  I  dare  say  that  the  conscience  of 
every  man  that  was  in  Pictou  at  that  time  will  say  that  the  deficiency  of 
the  stipend  never  hindered  the  ministration  of  the  gospel ;  that  it  did  not 
prevent  mc  from  travelling  a  great  deal,  and  enduring  much  hardship  in 
your  midst,  in  order  that  your  souls  might  be  benefitted.  At  that  time 
none  of  you  doubted  that  the  gospel  was  preached  to  you.  There  was  in- 
disputable evidence  concerning  the  truth  tliat  was  preached  in  your  midst, 
(  by  its  effects.)  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them,"  said  Christ.  The 
fruit  was  to  be  seen  as  a  clear  evidence.  Many  of  you,  and  many  more 
that  arc  now  in  glory  turned  to  the  living  God,  under  my  ministry, — you 
loved  tiie  ordinances,  and  you  often  travelled  far  in  order  to  enjoy  them  ; 
and  your  behaviour  manifested  an  example  of  godliness  that  adorned  the 
gospel.  But,  alas!  Pictou  was  better  when  it  was  poor  than  when  it  is 
rich.  When,  through  the  blessing  of  God  our  labours  had  prospered, — 
many  of  us  became  unthankful  and  haughty.  The  love  of  the  gospel  be- 
gan to  slacken,  and  to  wither  by  degrees.  About  that  time,  strangers 
came  in  amongst  us,  and  on  their  finding  the  church  in  this  state,  somo 
of  them  attempted  to  persuade  you  that  you  possessed  not  the  gospel,  and 
tliat  I  did  not  prcacli  it.  It  is  no  wonder  that  there  should  be  sucli 
men  as  these  among  you.  In  the  days  of  the  apostles,  the  peace  of 
the  clmrcii  was  broken  by  men  who  thought  they  were  wise  enough  to  be 
teachers.  But  the  Scripture  says,  respecting  them,  that  they  were  so 
ignorant  that  they  did  not  "understand  either  what  they  said  or  wliat 
they  affirmed."  But  it  is  no  small  wonder  that  there  should  be  a  man 
3(3* 


426  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

among'  you  who  were  so  long  under  tlie  gospel,  and  who  made  a  public 
profession  in  tlio  church  that  you  did  believe,  now  when  one  of  these 
strangers  tells  you  that  the  gospel  lias  not  been  preached  here,  that  a  man 
of  you  would  be  willing  to  lay  aside  his  profession,  and  allege  that  he 
does  not  know  the  Lord  Jesus  Clirist  and  his  gospel,  and  that  you  would 
believe  that  stranger  in  preference  to  the  minister  that  laboured  many  a 
year  in  order  to  teach  you  the  truth. 

Tills  is  not  tile  way  that  godly  men  are  willing  to  part  with  their  faith. 
When  Paul  preached  to  tlie  Bereans,  they  fidlowed  the  ancient  faith  until 
they  proved  his  teaching  by  the  Scriptures.  And  doubtless,  if  any  of  you 
had  been  doubtful  about  the  truth  of  my  teaching,  instead  of  giving  car  to 
men,  who  miglit  be  ignorant  of  the  truth  themselves,  you  ought  to  have 
compared  the  doctrines  taught  with  the  word  of  God,  anil  receive  them  or 
reject  them,  according  as  they  agreed  or  disagreed  with  that. 

If  I  have  not  been  preaching  the  gospel  to  you,  it  would  appear  that 
you  arc  in  ignorance  and  in  danger  of  destruction,  and  it  would  be  a  good 
thing  for  any  neighbour  to  make  known  to  you  your  danger.  But  brcth- 
ren,  before  you  believe  tiiem  in  a  matter  so  important,  you  ought  to  follow 
Christ's  rule,  "  By  their  fruits  yc  shall  know  them."  Let  me  assist  you  a 
little  in  looking  at  the  fruit.  Before  believing  any  man  that  will  say  to 
you  that  I  never  preached  the  gospel  to  you,  you  ought  to  be  well  assured 
that  he  himself  knows  what  is  the  gospel.  The  man  that  knows  the  gos- 
pel will  be  settled  in  his  opinion  respecting  the  truth,  and  stedfast  in  his 
profession.  He  will  not  call  one  thing  the  gospel  to-day,  and  another  thing 
to-morrow.  Wherever  he  may  find  the  truth  he  will  receive  it,  without 
saying  that  the  doctrine  is  gospel,  or  error,  according  as  he  likes,  or  dis- 
likes the  preacher.  It  is  not  difficult  for  you  to  judge,  that  this  has  hap- 
pened to  some  of  those  who  arc  making  you  dissatisfied  with  my  doctrine. 
I  will  name  only  one  of  them  : — When  Holmes  came  here,  he  professed 
that  he  did  not  come  to  America  for  the  sake  of  the  world,  but  for  tiie  sake 
of  the  gospel  that  was  dead  in  Scotland.  He  found  the  gospel  here  for  a 
season.  But  in  the  course  of  time  his  mind  began  to  be  dissatisfied  on 
ascertaining  that  it  was  not  the  gospel.  He  went  away  then,  and  trav- 
elled, according  to  his  own  account,  a  great  part  of  the  states  of  America, 
seeking  rest  and  finding  none.  Providence  sent  him  back,  and  he  found 
the  gospel  here  the  second  time ;  but  in  a  short  time  he  discovered  that  he 
was  in  error,  and  tiiat  there  is  no  gospel  at  all  here.  Nov^',  brethren,  arc  such 
counsellors  as  these  the  men  that  are  most  competent  to  teach  you  what  is 
the  gospel,  and  where  it  is  preached  ?  I  am  not  the  least  ashamed  of  the  doc- 
trine that  I  have  been  preaching  among  you,  for  I  know  that  it  is  the 
gospel  of  Christ,  and  I  believe  tiiat  some  of  }'ou  have  experienced  that  it  is 
"the  power  of  God  unto  salvation."  I  have  taught  you  that  "Clirist  Je- 
sus came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  I  have  made  known  unto  you 
that  he  saves  them  freely  by  his  grace.  I  have  often  preached  in  your 
hearing,  tliat  the  work  and  the  fruit  of  this  grace  is  to  prepare  your  souls 
for  a  holy  deportment  for  the  discharge  of  duty  in  this  life,  and  the  enjoy- 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  427 

merit  of  everlasting  happiness  in  the  life  to  come :  and  that  you  ought  all 
to  follow  this  gospel  until  the  great  day  of  aecount.  Whoever  shall  re- 
fuse tliis  doetrine,  or  me  for  preaching  it,  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus  will 
be  a  bitter  day  to  him.  You  will  have  but  little  joy  in  your  counsellors 
when  Clirist  shall  come  "to  be  glorified  in  his  saints  and  to  be  admired  in 
all  tiicm  tJiat  believe." 

Again  I  would  say  to  you,  before  you  believe  any  man  that  sets  you 
against  the  gospel  that  I  preached  to  you,  you  ought  to  observe  most 
sharply  if  their  own  behaviour  bears  witness  that  they  really  know  the 
gospel.  Tliey  that  know  the  gospel  will  manifest  something  of  its  nature 
and  spirit  in  their  conduct;  and  tlie  scripture  saith,  tliat  that  is  love  and 
peace.  If  sueh  people  as  these  have  any  reason  to  complain  of  the  state 
of  the  church  or  of  the  doctrine  of  a  minister,  it  is  with  the  spirit  of  love 
and  peace,  and  by  the  use  of  scriptural  means  that  they  will  endeavour  to 
remedy  these  things.  Love  will  not  lead  a  man  to  lie,  defame,  undermine, 
or  do  any  injury  to  the  church  or  to  the  work  of  a  minister.  Tliere  are 
some  of  you  tliat  know  they  are  doing  all  those  things.  And  who  does 
not  know  that  they  are  doing  their  best  against  the  church,  and  destroying 
the  effect  of  the  ordinances  of  Christ  among  you  1  When  they  went  among 
you  from  liouse  to  house,  were  they  not  stirring  up  strife  and  contention,  and 
making  you  dissatisfied  with  the  ordinances  in  which  some  of  you  ob- 
tained your  salvation  ?  Is  this  the  behaviour  that  is  according  to  the 
gospel  ? 

This  class  would  wish  to  be  considered  as  real  friends  to  the  gospel ; 
and  to  shew  that  they  are  in  earnest,  they  have  made  one  or  two  eftbrts 
to  obtain  a  minister  for  themselves.  This  would  be  useful  for  you,  and  I 
would  be  for  it  were  it  done  from  pure  motives  to  promote  real  godliness. 
You  need  the  undivided  labours  of  a  minister,  and  it  would  be  a  joyful 
thing  to  me  to  see  a  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord  labouring  among  you. 
Should  he  come  from  the  Church  of  Scotland  or  any  other  church,  I  would 
assist  him,  and  rejoice  in  his  success.  If  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Clirist  would  be  glorified  in  the  salvation  of  sinners,  I  would  be  indifferent 
who  were  the  instruments.  But  what  I  wish  you  to  consider  is  this, 
what  means  did  they  employ  to  obtain  the  gospel  for  themselves?  It  is 
very  clear  that  they  would  look  on  any  man, — any  godly  man  as  an  enemy, 
who  would  shew  himself  to  be  a  friend  to  the  church  of  Christ  in  Pictou. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  any  man  that  had  been  an  enemy  to  the  church 
and  the  ordinances  in  this  place,  even  should  he  be  wholly  unfit  for  any 
Christian  communion,  though  he  should  be  altogether  unholy,  and  a  pub- 
lic enemy  to  all  godliness,  they  received  into  their  friendship  and  commu- 
nion, and  they  agreed  together  to  overturn  that  church  and  these  ordinances, 
in  which  some  of  you  have  enjoyed  the  presence  and  the  blessing  of 
Christ.  God  could  not  be  reconciled  to  this,  and  it  is  no  wonder  if  his 
providence  disconcerted  their  plans.  They  sent  a  man  to  Scotland  for 
the  gospel.  But,  before  he  reached,  God  called  him  to  judgment,  and  to 
give  an  aecount  of  the  gospel  he  left  in  Pictou;  and  you,  brethren,  in  a 
very  siiort  time,  shall  follow  him  to  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  to  declare 


428  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

in  the  presence  of  (he  God  of  justice  and  of  holiness,  what  doctrine  you 
belii'vcd  or  did  not  believe  in  this  phice. 

I  would  suppose  that  a  providence  so  remarkable  would  lead  them  to 
Sf)lemn  reflections  and  close  searcliingf  ofthc  heart,  ''What,  if  the  blood  of 
tlint  man  shall  be  required  at  my  hands!  I  fear  that  my  way  is  not 
rig^iit  in  the  sight  of  God."  But  it  did  not.  It  docs  not  appear  that  it 
ever  occurred  to  them,  that  God  had  a  controversy  with  them.  As  soon 
as  a  man  und(?r  the  name  of  a  preacher  came,  they  received  him  without 
making  any  inquiry:  whether  he  came  out  of  his  own  accord,  or  wiicthcr 
a  ciuirch  court  sent  him  to  them;  and  wliether  he  did  or  did  not  bear  a 
good  character  where  he  was, — two  things  that  are  especially  necessary, 
in  order  to   a  person  possessing   proper  authority  to   preach  the  gospel. 

"Try  the  spirits  wliether  they  are  of  God."  Men  that  have  a  sin- 
core  love  for  the  gospel  will  inquire  diligently  concerning  tlie  character 
and  conduct  of  a  preacher  as  well  as  his  doctrine,  before  receiving  him. 
That  preacher  went  away,  and  I  am  going  to  say  notliing  about  him. 
But  it  is  my  duty  to  call  upon  you  to  take  notice  of  the  manner  of  tliat 
party  that  were  so  eager  to  retain  him,  in  order  that  they  might  have 
the  gospel.  It  is  not  seldom  that  tlicy  are  in  the  habit  of  speaking 
about  the  marks  of  the  children  of  God.  This  is  a  mark  that  the 
moutli  of  Christ  gave  us  of  his  people,  by  which  they  and  you  can  be 
tested, — "  A  stranger  will  they  not  follow,  hut  they  will  flee  from  him,  for 
they  know  not  the  voice  of  a  stranger."  Here  is  another  mark  that  Jere- 
miah gave,  about  the  children  of  disobedience, — "  I  have  loved  strangers, 
and  afier  tlicm  I  will  go."  Unless  mercy  prevent,  the  class  of  people  to 
whom  I  have  referred  will  ultimately  come  to  shame  and  disgrace.  They 
are  on  the  highway  to  destruction. 

This  congregation  has  need  of  being  sifted  and  tried,  and  God  may  em- 
ploy these  men  as  means  to  bring  his  church  into  trouble,  that  she  may  be 
priivcd  and  purified;  but  let  them  think  of  the  end  of  the  case,  lest  they 
may  have  as  much  bitterness  as  they  ever  had  of  satisfaction  in  their  un- 
dutiful  beliaviour.  When  the  Lord's  great  day  of  account  will  seize  them, 
they  will  have  but  little  consolation  in  remembering  that  they  despised  the 
ordinances  of  God,  and  that  they  endeavoured  to  injure  others.  When 
God  shall  arise  to  judge  this  case,  my  prayer  is  that  he  may  have  mercy 
01)  tluir  souls. 

Now  bretliren,  I  will  address  briefly  those  of  )'ou  who  arc  members  of 
tlie  church,  and  have  follr.wed  their  advice.  First  think  of  the  command 
of  {^od,  about  giving  obedience  to  the  rulers  of  the  church  :  "Obey  them 
that  have  the  rule  over  you,  and  submit  yourselves.  For  they  watch  for 
your  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account."  When  you  received  church 
privileges,  you  promised  this  obedience  in  the  presence  of  God,  angels,  and 
men.  You  bound  yourselves  to  the  church  as  members  of  the  body ;  you 
promised  by  your  profession  to  walk  according  to  tlie  laws  and  regulations 
of  tlie  house  of  Christ,  to  bear  witness  on  his  side  in  the  world.  You 
promised  obedience  in  the  Lord  to  me  as  your  minister,  and  to  the  session 
in  this  congregation.     Does  your  conscience  then  in  the  presence  of  God, 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  429 

say  that  you  have  been  walking  according'  to  tliis  profession  ?  Some  of 
you  are  blameless  in  this  matter.  Notwitlistanding  all  the  disturbances 
that  have  been  among  you,  these  have  understood  that  they  have  the  gos- 
pel already,  and   they  have   preserved   themselves  from  evil  counsellors. 

To  them  I  will  say  that  their  connection  with  me  is  as  it  was.  We 
have  been  long  together  in  the  peace  of  this  gospel,  and  it  will  ever  be  a 
pleasure  to  me  to  aid  in  promoting  the  life  and  salvation  of  their  souls. 
To  the  rest  I  have  something  else  to  say.  When  1  undertook  the  charge 
of  this  congregation  I  promised  in  the  presence  of  God  and  the  church  to 
feed  the  flock  of  Christ,  to  teach  you  the  gospel,  to  tell  you  your  sins  and 
your  duty  without  fear,  as  your  state  miglit  require.  I  promised  this  as 
1  would  have  to  answer  to  Christ  at  his  glorious  coming,  and  in  his  king- 
dom. This  was,  doubtless,  a  binding  obligation  upon  me.  But,  brethren, 
vou  put  yourselves  under  obligations  equally  stringent.  When  you  joined 
yourselves  to  the  church  by  a  public  profession,  you  promised  me  obedi- 
ence in  the  Lord.  I  call  upon  you  therefore,  in  the  presence  of  God,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  church,  to  declare  why  you 
have  rcjcclcd  me,  and  along  with  me,  the  ordinances  you  promised  to  sup. 
port?  Why  did  you  forsake  the  obedience  promised  me,  in  the  work  of 
the  Lord?  Why  did  you  set  up  yourselves  so  soon  as  leaders  for  your- 
selves, breaking  your  covenant  with  Grod  in  the  church.  It  seems  you 
imagine  that  your  agreement  with  me  is  only  like  a  sort  of  bargain,  which 
you  may  break  whenever  you  please.  But  that  is  not  the  manner  in 
which  godly  men  will  regard  their  agreement.  If  you  had  cause  to  com- 
plain against  me,  the  court  of  Ciirist  was  open  to  afford  you  redress  :  but 
there  is  no  power  on  earth,  that  can  undo  the  agreement  between  us,  but 
the  power  ihatjirst  united  us. 

By  calling  another  to  labour  among  you,  you  rejected  me  as  your  min- 
ister; and  now  I  am  about  to  adopt  towards  you  the  way  that  the  word 
of  God  directs  me.  I  might  preacii  the  gospel  to  you,  and  compel  you  to 
support  it.  But  I  know  Christ  better  than  that,  and  it  was  never  yours 
that  I  sought,  but  you.  Christ  is  able  to  provide  for  me.  He  has  done  it 
long  honourably,  and  he  will  do  it  as  long  as  he  has  work  for  me.  Though 
you  have  cast  me  off,  neither  Christ  nor  the  church  has  done  so.  I  know 
many  a  place  that  will  receive  me  gladly,  and  that  will  gladly  receive  the 
glorious  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  tliat  I  preached  to  you  and  that  you  are' 
refusing.  1  am  about  to  do  with  you  as  the  apostles  did  when  men  who 
considered  themselves  very  zealous  for  the  truth  opposed  them.  When 
the  Jews  saw  multitudes  attending  on  the  preaching  of  this  gospel,  they 
were  filled  with  envy,  and  spoke  against  tliese  things  which  were  spoken 
by  Paul.  Then  Paul  and  Barnabas  waxed  bold,  and  said,  "  It  was  neces- 
sary that  tlic  word  of  God  should  first  have  been  spoken  to  you,  but  see- 
ing that  you  put  it  from  you  and  judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  everlasting 
life,  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles."  The  first  time  the  Presbytery  meets, 
I  purpose  to  solicit  them  to  dissolve  the  connection  between  you  and  me, 
and  give  me  work  in  another  place.  It  is  a  painful  providence  to  me  to 
be  rejected  by  you,  after  labouring  so  long  among  you.     But  though  cast 


430  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

down  T  am  not  in  despair.  I  have  an  abundance  of  joy.  I  have  seen 
niucli  of  the  goodness  of  God,  and  he  will  not  forsaltc  me.  I  have  llie 
esteem  and  love  ol"  godly  men,  far  and  near.  I  doubt  not,  but  my  Master 
will  say  to  me,  "Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant."  I  have  news  to 
tell,  such  as  few  ministers  have: — I  came  to  tliis  country  alone,  without  a 
friend  or  acquaintance  hut  God  ;  and  now  I  can  look  around  me  and  sec 
the  church  extending  East  and  West,  North  and  South.  Espeeiall}',  I  am 
surrounded  by  more  than  twenty  ministers, — all  living  in  Cliristian  fel- 
lowship, and  all  preacliing  tiie  same  gospel, — the  gospel  of  salvation  to 
lost  sinners.  I  see  joy  in  every  surrounding  place,  arising  from  the  sue- 
cess  of  this  gospel,  except  this  poor  ignorant  quarter,  to  wiiicli  the  gospel 
is  not  tiie  gospel,  I  have  grown  gray  in  the  work  of  Christ,  and  though 
he  is  shewing  me  hard  things,  nevertheless  I  would  not  exchange  with 
the  one  that  has  the  greatest  riches  or  hope  among  you. 

It  is  you  that  are  to  I)e  pitied.  And  truly  you  have  much  need  of  the 
pity  and  |)rayers  of  God,  by  men.  And  for  your  own  sake  I  would  pray, 
that  it  may  not  be  long  till  you  change  your  opinion  concerning  your  i)e- 
haviour  at  this  time.  It  seems  you  do  not  think  it  any  harm  to  reject  my 
ministry;  but  let  nie  tell  you  this,  when  I  came,  it  was  in  the  name  of  tiie 
Liird  I  came;  and  you  received  me  in  his  name.  My  calling  and  my 
authority  are  as  they  were;  and  Christ  says,  "He  that  despiseth  you  de- 
spiseth  me."  You  do  not  suppose  that  you  are  despising  Christ.  But 
did  you  not  acknowledge  me  as  his  minister?  Have  you  not  experienced 
his  presence  in  the  ordinances?  And  now  it  is  your  wish  to  have  these 
ordinances  driven  away  from  your  midst.  Do  not  think  that  you  are 
honouring  Christ,  when  you  are  breaking  down  his  house.  What  glory 
shall  be  left  to  you,  when  you  shall  have  put  away  from  you  the  ordinan- 
ces of  his  salvation  ?     "  Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  j'ou  desohite  !" 

Some  of  you  complain  that  j'ou  are  getting  no  good  of  the  ordinances 
that  are  administsred  here.  This  is  doubtless  true.  But  who  is  to  blame? 
Did  you  come  to  tiicm  with  an  humble  mind,  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  Christ  as 
persons  that  needed  instruction?  If  you  tell  the  truth  you  will  say  ihat 
you  came  to  despise.  You  did  not  come  to  learn  the  way  of  salvation  and 
your  duty  ;  but  you  came  as  the  Pharisees  came  to  Christ,  to  wrest  his 
words,  and  to  be  a  source  of  contention,  and  disgrace  to  his  gospel.  And 
G(jd  has  been  dealing  with  you  accordingly.  For,  instead  of  making  his 
gliiry  known  to  you,  he  let  you  go  away  defaming:  for  "he  will  fill  the 
hungry  with  good  tilings,  but  the  rich  he  will  send  empty  away."  This 
was  tlie  Wiiy  in  whicli  th(^  hauglity  .Tews  despised  Christ  himself;  and  they 
saw  no  beauty  in  him;  nevertheless  he  pn'aclied  the  gospel, — tlie  very 
gospel  that  I  have  preached  to  you ;  and  that  has  been  and  shall  be,  in 
early  age,  ''tiie  power  of  God  " 

I  am  now  going  to  leave  you;  and,  in  the  name  of  tlie  Lord  I  would 
warn  y"u  of  tlie  danger  to  which  you  are  exposed.  You  have  obtained 
but  little  coinibrt  since  the  day  in  wliieh  you  began  to  quarrel  with  the 
ordinances  of  God.  And  the  farther  you  proceed  in  that  course  the  more 
certainly  will  you  find  to  your  cost,  that  there  is  neither  peace  nor  joy  to 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  431 

be  found  therein.  You  liave  troubled  the  clmrcli,  and  you  liave  provoked 
God.  You  have  driven  away  from  your  children  the  gospel,  that  would 
make  them  wise  unto  salv.ition.  You  have  taught  iheni  to  despise.  Be- 
ware, lest  they  return  into  your  bosom  a  bitter  retribution.  You  are 
bringing- darkness  on  them;  and  wliere  will  be  your  delight,  when  they 
".^tumble  on  the  dark  mountains?" 

D.)  not  think  that  I  am  leaving  yon  in  anger.  It  is  my  duty.  It  was 
your  eternal  weltare  that  I  always  souglit.  And,  though  you  have  dealt 
undutifuUy  with  me,  that  is  what  I  shall  still  seek.  When  Christ  was 
"reviled,  he  reviled  not  again."  When  they  crucified  him,  he  said,  "Fa- 
ther, forgive  them." — This  is  my  prayer  for  you. 

In  a  short  time  \vc  shall  both  end  our  journey  in  this  world.  Perhaps 
we  shall  never  again  meet  on  earth  in  the  way  of  public  worship.  But 
there  is  one  day  before  us  in  which  we  must  look  one  another  in  the  face. 
We  shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  I  will  stand  there 
as  your  minister.  I  will  bring  with  me  and  present  in  the  presence  of 
Christ  the  gospel  that  I  preached  in  your  midst.  And  you  must  answ(-r 
him  how  you  treated  tiiis  gospel  and  me.  "  The  day  of  the  Lord  cometh 
as  a  thief  in  the  night."  Therefore,  "  be  ye  also  ready," — ready  to  de- 
clare  in  the  presence  of  the  living  God  how  you  have  derided,  some  cspe- 
cially  his  doctrine  and  his  church,  and  offended  the  minds  and  broken  the 
peace  of  weak  believers,  and  taken  the  off-scouring  of  the  world  fc;r  friends 
and  companions,  in  order  that  you  and  they  might  destroy  those  ordinan- 
ces that  you  atone  time  acknowledged  to  be  the  ordinances  of  Christ,  and 
the  means  of  your  salvation.  Prepare  to  meet  with  me  on  the  great  day, 
at  the  judgment-seat  of  the  glorious  God.  There  it  shall  be  fully  de- 
clared what  the  gospel  is,  and  who  preached  it,  and  who  believed  it,  when 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  "revealed  from  heaven  in  flaming  fire," 
taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power;  when  he 
shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  all  them  that  believe. 

To  you  who  have  manifested  friendship  to  the  gospel  I  would  say,  it  is 
my  opinion,  that  the  cliurcli  will  by  no  means  cast  you  off;  or  any  other 
one  that  may  see  his  error.  It  is  my  duty  to  exemplify  corresponding  love 
in  return  ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  the  courts  of  the  house  of  God  will  look  to 
you,  to  preserve  you  in  the  enjoyment  of  every  privilege  that  Providence 
may  deem  expedient.  The  Presbytery  is  to  meet  at  the  West  River  next 
Wednesday  week.  I  purpose  to  give  up  this  half  of  the  congregation 
then,  and  your  circumstances  will  be  looked  to  if  you  desire  it.  But  be- 
tween this  and  that  time  it  will  become  you  to  bring  your  own  case  and 
that  of  your  families  before  the  Lord,  and  to  ask  that  aid  and  direction, 
that  he  has  promised  to  his  people.  And  may  the  Lord  "lead  you  to  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  patience  of  Jesus  Christ," — may  he  "bless  you  and 
keep  you."* 

*  For  the  translation  of  this  address  we  must  express  our  obligations  to  Mr.  Kobert 
Grant,  preacher. 


432  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

The  above  address  loses  much  of  its  power  by  translation. 
Those  who  can  read  it  iu  the  original  have  assured  nie  that  it 
was  scarcely  possible  for  a  Highlander  to  hear  it  unmoved.  It 
was  delivered,  as  we  may  suppose,  under  deep  emotion.  The 
tears  coursed  down  his  cheeks,  and  his  tremulous  voice  indica- 
ted the  depth  of  feeling,  which  only  by  a  struggle  he  was  ena- 
bled so  far  to  overcome  as  to  be  able  to  proceed.  The  whole 
congregation  were  deeply  affected.  Many  cried  like  children, 
and  the  whole  place  was  a  Bochim,  or  place  of  weeping.  They 
were  overcome,  not  merely  by  the  sight  of  their  aged  pastor 
thus  treated,  but  by  a  sense  of  their  own  ingratitude  in  the 
manner  in  which  they  had  acted  toward  him. 

Nor  did  their  feelings  evaporate  in  tears.  They  proceeded 
to  action.  A  meeting  was  immediately  held,  and  a  paper 
drawn  up,  expre.ssive  of  their  deep  sorrow  for  the  manner  in 
which  they  had  treated  him.  This  was  subscribed  by  the 
large  majority  of  the  followers  of  Fletcher,  who  had  been  for 
a  length  of  time  resident  on  the  East  River.  Holmes  and 
his  party,  with  those  who  had  but  recently  arrived,  and  were 
filled  with  prejudice  against  the  Secession  ministers,  still  held 
aloof.  Commissioners  were  appointed  to  present  this  acknow- 
ledgment to  the  Presbytery,  and  to  urge  the  continuance  of  the 
Doctor's  services  among  them.  Their  efforts  were  successful, 
and  he  continued  to  labour  among  them  as  usual,  until  some 
years  later,  when  by  an  amicable  arrangement,  the  people  in 
that  quarter  were  set  apart  as  a  separate  congregation. 

In  the  meantime  Fletcher  had  left,  making  an  excuse  for  not 
remaining  here  that  there  were  so  many  places  in  Canada, 
entirely  destitute  of  the  gospel.  When  in  Halifax  on  his  way, 
it  is  said  that  he  was  in  such  a  state  of  intoxication,  at  the 
boarding  house  in  which  he  stayed,  that  means  had  to  be 
adopted  to  keep  liquor  from  him,  and  he  otherwise  acted  badly. 
On  his  arrival  in  Canada  he  so  far  imposed  on  a  Presbytery 
there,  that  they  licensed  him,  but  his  character  having  followed 
him  from  Scotland,  and  indeed  becoming  exposed  there,  he  was 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  433 

deprived  of  his  license,  and  his  later  years  were  spent  in 
wretchedness. 

In  the  following  year  (1817),  the  Rev.  Donald  A.  Fraser 
arrived  at  the  solicitation  of  the  malcontents  on  the  East  Kiver. 
"We  wish  to  say  as  little  to  his  discredit  as  possible,  but  it  is 
undeniable  that  he  was  under  a  cloud  previous  to  his  leaving 
tiie  old  country.  He  wns  immediately  engaged  for  a  year,  and 
they  now  congratulated  themselves  that  they  at  last  had  the 
gospel,  but  they  soon  became  dissatisfied  with  him.  Mr.  F. 
afterward  gave  evidence  of  decided  talent,  but  at  this  time  he 
was  regarded  by  all  parties  as  a  very  poor  preacher ;  and  though 
in  later  times  his  conduct  was  more  consistent  with  the  minis- 
terial character,  yet  at  this  time  it  gave  oflfence  to  serious  peo- 
ple. It  was  therefore  determined  to  get  quit  of  him.  The 
following  incident  may  show  the  ignorance  and  bigotry  of  some 
of  the  party.  One  of  them  having  expressed  this  view  to  a 
member  of  Doctor  MacGregor's  congregation,  it  was  said  in 
reply,  "  Perhaps  that  will  not  be  so  easy  for  you  to  do,  you 
have  come  under  an  engagement  with  him,  and  you  cannot  get 
out  of  it."  ''Oh,"  said  the  other,  "we  have  what  will  put 
him  away — what  if  sent  home  would  put  him  from  preaching 
altogether."  "  What  is  that?"  "Just  that  he  went  into  the 
same  pulpit  with  a  Seceder." 

Mr.  H's.  next  idea  was  to  send  to  Rossshire  for  a  minister. 
A  man  named  Fraser  was  accordingly  despatched  for  that  pur- 
pose. He  went  to  the  leading  ministers  belonging  to  the 
Church  of  Scotland  in  the  North,  whom  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, as  in  friendly  correspondence  with  Dr.  MacGregor,  but 
they  all  refused  to  receive  his  report,  that  they  had  not  the  gos- 
pel in  Pictou.  They  told  him  that  Doctor  MacGregor  and  his 
associates  preached  the  gospel  better  than  any  man  that  they 
could  get  to  send  out  here.  On  one  occasion,  when  Fraser  was 
making  some  statements  to  Mr.  Macintosh,  of  Tain,  against 
Doctor  MacGregor,  Mr.  M.  quietly  went  and  brought  out  a  let- 
ter, saying  that  he  had  some  writings  of  a  good  man,  that  he 
wished  to  read  to  him.     After  reading  portions  of  the  letter, 


434  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

he  asked  Fraser  what  he  thought  of  the  writer.  He  replied, 
"  He  must  be  a  good  man."  "  Well,"  said  Mr.  M.,  "  that  is 
Doctor  MacGregor's  writing."  Mr.  H.  and  his  party  being 
disappointed  in  this  quarter  were  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  Mr.  F. 

In  the  meantime  similar  proceedings  had  taken  place  in  the 
settlements  around.  Parties  were  formed,  but  almost  entirely 
among  the  later  emigrants,  in  favour  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
Many  joined  who  were  not  actuated  by  the  same  factious  dis- 
position as  their  leaders,  but  from  the  confessedly  inadequate 
supply  of  Gaelic  preaching  that  the  ministers  of  our  church 
could  afford  them,  and  especially  from  their  natural  feelings  of 
preference  for  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  the  prejudice  in  the 
Highlands  against  ministers  of  the  Secession. 

Still,  however,  Mr.  Fraser  continued  on  friendly  terms  with 
Doctor  MacGregor.  He  visited  freely  at  his  house, — he  at- 
tended an  examination  of  the  Pictou  Academy,  and  professed 
himself  highly  gratified  with  the  progress  that  the  students  had 
made,  and  frequently  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  Doctor 
MacCulloch's  efforts.  There  was  even  a  talk  of  his  uniting 
with  the  Presbytery  here,  but  there  was  a  difficulty  in  reference 
to  his  certificate,  although  the  circumstances  in  which  he  had 
left  the  old  country  were  not  generally  known  here.  But  the 
party  who  adhered  to  him  would  not  bear  any  friendliness  of 
this  kind.  The  first  Sacrament  he  held,  which  was  at  Mac- 
Lennan's  Mountain,  he  wished  to  have  the  Doctor  to  assist  him, 
but  they  would  not  listen  to  the  proposal. 

This  continued  till  the  arrival  of  another  minister  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  when  he  entirely  broke  off  all  association 
with  the  Doctor.  Others  followed  and  the  breach  was  com- 
plete. Of  more  than  one  of  those  who  came  after  Mr.  F..  justice 
requires  us  to  say,  that  while  they  might  have  been  fitted  for  a 
place  in  some  of  those  Presbyteries  in  Scotland,  in  which  Mo- 
deratism  prevailed,  and  in  which  the  most  liberal  devotion  to 
the  service  of  Bacchus  formed  no  disqualification  for  the  min- 
istry, yet  their  conduct  was  auch,  that,  in  the  minds  of  those 


RKV.    JAMKS    MACUIIKOOR,    D.D.  435 

who  held  the  strict  views  of  the  ministerial  character  prevalent 
in  the  Secession,  union  with  them  was  impossible.  The 
party,  who  were  opposed  to  Doctor  MacGregor,  now  rejoiced 
that  they  had  the  pure  gospel,  and  entertained  the  most  ex- 
travagant expectations,  of  what  was  to  be  the  result  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  their  midst.  "The 
Seceder  ministers  would  soon  not  be  allowed  to  preach  at  all, 
but  would  be  glad  to  get  into  such  situations  as  schoolmasters, 
&c."  They  were  even  promised  that  they  would  get  all  their 
taxes  back ;  and  we  have  been  credibly  informed,  some  of  them 
were  silly  enough  to  refuse  to  pay  till  they  were  obliged  to  do 
so  with  expenses. 

To  Doctor  MacGregor  this  breach  was  perhaps  the  most  pain- 
ful event  of  his  life.  He  has  often  shed  tears  over  it.  On  one 
occasion  entering  Robert  Marshall's,  he  was  told  some  of  what 
the  others  were  saying  about  him.  He  burst  into  tears,  but  in 
a  little,  he  quoted  a  passage  of  Scripture,  saying,  "  That's  my 
comfort,"  and  dried  his  tears. 

But  in  no  part  of  his  life  did  he  manifest  more  strikingly 
his  Christian  meekness.  Never  did  he  speak  bitterly  of  the 
party  opposed  to  him.  He  continued  to  visit  them  in  a  friendly 
manner,  and  to  show  them  every  kindness ;  but  they  could  not 
bear  him.  One  man,  who,  before  the  eflforts  of  Holmes,  had 
said,  that  if  he  were  hungry,  or  thirsty,  or  weary,  when  he 
heard  Doctor  MacGregor,  he  was  so  no  more,  joined  the  party. 
The  Doctor  visited  him  afterward.  He  was  at  work  in  his 
potato  field.  "When  the  Doctor  came,  he  scarcely  raised  his 
head  and  never  stopped  in  his  work.  The  Doctor  spoke  to 
him,  but  could  scarcely  get  civility  from  him.  The  Doctor 
then  went  to  his  house  and  prayed  with  his  family. 

He  laboured  hard  to  have  a  reconciliation  with  Holmes,  but 
the  latter  was  inexorable.  Nothing  could  exceed  his  bitter- 
ness against  the  Doctor.  On  one  occasion  the  latter  and  Mr. 
Fraser  came  to  the  church  to  preach  on  the  same  day.  On  the 
Doctor  rising,  Holmes  was  heard  tramping  down  the  stairs,  as 
if  he  were  escaping  from  a  burning  theatre,  and  on  other  oc- 


436  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

casions  acted  in  a  similar  manner ;  yet  the  Doctor  could  speak 
no  ill  of  him.  He  wrote  a  poem  addressed  to  him,  in  which 
he  speaks  of  him  in  the  most  friendly  manner;  and  when  Holmes 
died,  all  the  remark  he  made  was,  "  Well,  well,  Holmes  and  I 
could  not  agree  here,  but  if  /  get  to  heaven,  we  will  have  no 
quarrels  there." 

During  these  years  he  was  also  engaged  in  missionary  labours, 
but  an  account  of  them  we  must  reserve  for  our  next  chapter. 


BEV.   JAM£S   MACGREOOR,   D.D.  437 


CHAPTER    XX. 

LATER   MISSIONARY    JOURNEYS — PUBLICATION   OP   GAELIC 
POEMS.— 1816-1821. 

"  So  that  from  Jerusalem,  and  round  about  unto  Illyricum  I  have  fully 
preached  the  gospel  of  Christ."     Rom.  xv.  19. 

We  have  mentioned  at  the  close  of  the  last  chapter,  that 
during  the  years  in  which  his  congregation  was  so  much  agita- 
ted at  home,  he  undertook  several  excursions  abroad.  We  shall 
now  proceed  to  give  an  account  of  these,  as  well  as  of  some 
other  of  his  later  missionary  journeys. 

During  each  of  the  years  1816,  1817,  and  1819,  he  made  a 
tour  of  a  considerable  part  of  Prince  Edward  Island.  Since 
the  beginning  of  the  century,  there  had  been  an  influx  of  im- 
migrants from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  who  had  formed  a 
number  of  new  settlements  chiefly  in  the  south-eastern  part  of 
the  Island,  which  now  form  flourishing  congregations.  It  was 
to  these  that  his  eff"orts  on  these  journeys  were  chiefly  directed. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  journey  in  1817,  he  proceeded  along 
with  Doctor  Keir  to  Miramichi  for  the  induction  of  the  Rev. 
James  Thompson.  Intimation  of  the  appointment  was  con- 
veyed to  Doctor  Keir  in  the  following  terms : 

East  River  of  Pictou,  July  \&th,  1817. 
Dear  Sir  : — I  am  appointed  by  the  Presbytery  to  take  the  first  good 
opportunity  of  going  to  Princctown,  and  there  to  inform  Rev.  Mr.  Keir,  that 
he  and  one  of  his  elders  are  also  appointed  to  repair  to  Miramichi  as  soon 
37* 


438  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

as  possible,  and  there  to  judge  of  a  call  given  to  Mr.  Thomson,  and,  if  it 
be  sustained,  to  proceed  with  all  convenient  speed  to  the  instalment  of  the 
said  Mr.  Thomson,  as  minister  of  Miramiclii.  You  will,  therefore,  imme- 
diately proceed  to  provide  a  boat,  and  an  elder,  with  yourself,  that  when  I 
come  there  may  be  as  little  delay  as  possible.  Expecting  to  see  you  soon, 
I  remain,  Yours,  &c., 

James  MacGregor. 
Pray. 

We  question  if  the  whole  rolls  of  epistolary  correspondence 
will  aflford  an  example  of  the  condensation  of  as  much  impor- 
tant advice  in  as  small  compass  as  in  the  above  Postscript.  In 
going  to  Miramichi,  they  experienced  a  remarkable  instance  of 
the  care  of  divine  Providence.  They  took  passage  from  Be- 
deque  in  a  new  vessel  going  to  the  former  place  to  take  in  cargo. 
She  had  not  sufficient  ballast,  but  they  had  a  pleasant  voyage, 
and  dreamed  not  of  danger.  But  scarcely  had  they  landed 
from  her  till  she  capsized  in  the  river,  filled  and  sank  to  the 
bottom,  not  however  in  deep  water,  but  she  was  only  raised 
with  great  difficulty. 

They  returned  in  an  open  boat,  to  Princetown,  a  distance  of 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  In  the  passage  over  he 
lay  down  on  the  stones  of  the  ballast,  and  slept  soundly,  though 
he  awoke  to  find  his  elbow  on  which  he  was  leaning  having  the 
skin  rubbed  off.  From  Princetown  he  proceeded  to  New 
London  where  he  preached  on  Saturday.  Keturning  thence  he 
preached  on  Sabbath  at  Princetown  for  Doctor  Keir.  On  their 
way  home  from  the  church  he  remarked  in  a  very  thoughtful 
manner  to  Doctor  Keir,  "  Here  we  are  so  earnest  in  preaching 
to  these  people,  and  yet  some  of  them  will  be  damned." 

He  left  the  following  week  for  the  settlements  already  referred 
to  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Island,  from  which  he  got  a  pas- 
sage to  Pictou.  On  his  return  home  he  thus  writes  to  Doctor 
Keir,  under  date  Nov.  3d  : 

"  I  must  begin  by  hedging  pardon  for  neglecting  so  long  to  write.  My 
work  was  far  behind  when  I  came  home,  and  besides  I  had  to  take  a  jour- 
ney  to  visit  a  small  settlement  of  Highlanders,  who  had  not  heard  a  ser- 
mon these  fifleen  years. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREQOR,    D.D.  439 

"The  S;ibbath  after  I  parted  with  you,  I  preached  at  the  West  River,* 
to  a  considerable  coiiirregation  of  English,  and  a  larger  congregation, 
much  larger  than  I  expected,  of  Gaelic  hearers.  Were  they  true  blue,  they 
would  be  suflificnt  with  Tryon,  to  maintain  a  minister,  but  I  fear  that  the 
Highlanders  will  not  do  much.  We  have,  however,  no  Gaelic  minister  to 
send  to  them,  or  to  Belfast.  Mr.  Paxton  writes  us  that  we  can  get  no 
Gaelic  preacher.  Belfast  was  in  much  the  same  state  as  last  year,  de- 
sirous of  getting  a  minister,  but  not  overwhelmed  with  liberality.  Let  us 
pray  to  God  to  provide  for  them." 

The  settlement  of  Belfast,  which  he  yisited  on  both  these  oc- 
casions, was  founded  in  the  year  1803,  by  a  number  of  families 
from  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  who  were  sent  out 
by  the  Earl  of  Selkirk.  So  judicious  were  the  arrangements 
made,  that  they  escaped  in  a  great  measure  the  hardships  en- 
dured by  the  early  settlers  in  other  places.  It  may  not  be  going 
too  far  out  of  our  way  to  give  the  Earl's  own  account  of  the 
formation  of  the  settlement : 

"These  persons,  amounting  to  about  eight  hundred  persons  of  all  ages, 
reached  tiic  island  in  three  ships  on  the  7th,  9th,  and  27th  August,  1803. 
It  had  been  my  intention  to  come  to  the  Island  some  time  before  any  of 
the  settlers,  in  order  that  every  requisite  preparation  might  be  made.  In 
this,  however,  a  number  of  untoward  circumstances  occurred  to  disap- 
point me;  and  on  arriving  at  tlie  capital  of  the  Island,  I  learned  that  the 
ship  of  most  importance  had  just  arrived,  and  the  passengers  were  land- 
ing at  a  place  previously  appointed  for  the  purpose.  I  lost  no  time  in  pro- 
ceeding to  the  spot,  where  I  found  that  the  people  had  already  lodged  them- 
selves in  temporary  wigwams,  composed  of  poles  and  branches. 

"The  settlers  had  spread  themselves  along  tlie  shore  for  the  distance  of 
half  a  mile,  upon  the  site  of  an  old  French  village,  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed  and  abandoned  after  the  capture  of  the  Island  by  the  British  forces 
in  1758.  The  land  which  had  formerly  been  overgrown  with  wood,  was 
overgrown  again  with  thickets  of  young  trees,  interspersed  with  grassy 
glades.  I  arrived  at  the  place  late  in  the  evening,  and  it  had  then  a  very 
striking  appearance.  Each  family  had  kindled  a  large  fire  near  the  wig. 
wams  and  around  these  were  assembled  groups  of  figures,  whose  peculiar 
national  dress  added  to  the  singularity  of  the  surrounding  scene  ;  confused 
heaps  of  baggage  were  every  wiiere  piled  together  beside  their  wild  habi- 
tations,  and,  by  the  number  of  fires,  the  whole  woods  were  illuminated. 
At  the  end  of  the  line  of  encampment,  I  pitched  my  own  tent,  and  was 
surrounded  in  the  morning  by  a  numerous  assemblage  of  people,  whose 

*  One  of  the  rivers  emptying  into  Charlotte  Town  Ilarbour,  sometimes  called,  on 
maps,  York  River. 


440  MEMOIR   OF   TUE 

behaviour  indicated  that  tiiey  looked  to  nothing  less  than  the  restoration 
of  the  happy  days  of  clanship.  *  *  These  hardy  people  thought 
little  of  the  inconvenience  they  felt  from  the  sliglitness  of  the  shelter  they 
had  put  up  for  themselves." 

After  stating  numerous  difficulties  attending  the  location  of 
the  emigrants,  his  Lordship  proceeds  : 

"I  could  not  but  regret  the  time  which  had  been  lost,  but  I  had  satisfac- 
tion in  reflecting,  that  the  settlers  had  begun  the  culture  of  their  farms 
with  their  little  capital  unimpaired.  I  quitted  the  Island  in  September 
1803,  and  after  an  extensive  tour  on  the  continent  of  America,  returned  at 
the  end  of  the  same  month  in  the  following  year.  It  was  with  the  utmost 
satisfaction  I  then  found  that  my  plans  had  been  followed  up  with  atten- 
tion and  judgment.  I  found  the  settlers  engaged  in  securing  the  harvest 
which  their  industry  had  produced.  There  were  three  or  four  families, 
who  had  not  gathered  a  crop  adequate  to  their  own  supply,  but  many 
others  had  a  considerable  superabundance." 

At  the  time  of  their  settlement  there  were  three  families  of 
Roman  Catholics  there,  who  left  this  part  of  the  Island  almost 
immediately  after.  At  this  time  all  the  settlers,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  three  or  four  families  of  Baptists,  were  Presbyte- 
rians adhering  to  the  Church  of  Scotland.  At  first  both  parties 
met  in  one  house  together  on  the  Lord's  day  for  reading  and 
prayer.  After  the  arrival  of  one  or  two  itinerant  self-taught, 
self-assumed  preachers  this  harmony  ceased,  and  they  have 
since  met  in  different  places. 

By  the  time  Doctor  MacGregor  arrived  the  people  had  made 
considerable  progress,  but  it  is  said  that  there  was  not  a  horse 
in  the  district,  and  none  till  within  a  few  miles  of  Charlotte 
Town.  There  was  neither  road  nor  bridge,  so  that  persons  had 
to  travel  along  the  shore  round  the  creeks  or  through  the  wood, 
by  narrow  paths.  A  church  had  previously  been  erected  at 
Point  Prim,  at  the  instance  of  a  Doctor  Macaulay,  who  had 
been  chaplain  in  the  army  for  some  time,  and  who  preached 
there  statedly,  but  who  seems  to  have  attended  as  much  to  the 
medical  profession,  as  to  ministerial  duties. 

The  Rev.  Alexander  MacKay,  lately  minister  at  Belfast,  in- 
forms me,  that  he  preached  one  Gaelic  sermon  on  each  of  his 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  441 

visits,  the  first  time  in  the  church  at  Point  Prim,  the  second 
in  a  house  at  Little  Belfast — that  his  first  sermon  was  on  tlie 
Church  of  Laodicea,  and  the  second  on  '*  the  Prodigal  Son." 
He  adds,  "  His  sermons  on  these  occasions  are  said  to  have 
made  a  very  favourable  impression,  and  are  represented  as  very 
plain,  faithful,  and  powerful.  On  these  occasions  he  also  bap- 
tized five  or  six  children." 

Another  person  remembers  a  sermon  preached  there  on  one 
of  his  visits,  from  Phil.  iii.  13,  14,  many  remarks  in  which  he 
is  still  able  to  rehearse.  We  may  add  that  the  people  there 
afterward  received  the  Rev.  John  Maclennan,  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  and  have  since  been  supplied  by  ministers 
from  that  body. 

In  the  year  1819,  he  proceeded  to  Prince  Edward  Island  for 
the  ordination  of  the  Rev.  Andrew  Nicoll,  a  preacher  from  the 
Associate  Synod  in  Scotland,  who  had  heen  called  to  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  the  congregation  of  Richmond  Bay,  which  had 
hitherto  been  a  portion  of  Doctor  Keir's  congregation.  On  this 
occasion  he  also  traversed  the  southern  shore,  as  we  have  posi- 
tive information  of  his  preaching  at  Woodville,  then  called 
Wood  Island.  This  was  not  his  first  visit  to  that  quarter,  and 
he  visited  them  three  times,  preaching  once,  twice,  or  oftener 
as  opportunity  offered,  his  stay  being  generally  short.  This 
being  the  nearest  point  of  the  Island  to  Pictou,  the  people  there 
generally  conveyed  him  home  in  their  boats. 

The  people  here  were  originally  from  the  Island  of  Colonsa, 
from  which  they  had  emigrated  to  this  place  about  the  year 
1800.  They  were  then  in  very  humble  circumstances,  and 
their  religious  condition  was  more  destitute  still.  There  was 
no  Presbyterian  minister  settled  in  any  part  of  the  southern 
coast,  and  they  had  only  heard  two  or  three  sermons  from  the 
time  of  their  arrival  until  he  visited  them. 

On  his  visit  in  1819  he  preached  twice,  once  in  the  house  of 
Mr.  Malcolm  MacMillan,  and  once  in  the  open  air.  The  text 
in  the  house  was,  Hos.  xiii.  9,  "  0  Israel,  thou  hast  destroyed 
thyself;  but  in  me  is  thy  help."     About  this  sermon  one  man 


442  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

says,  that  it  was  the  first  he  ever  heard;  not  that  he  never  heard 

prcachin<;  before,  but  as  he  remarks,  "  I  listened  to  it  through- 
out, and  though  I  cannot  say  that  it  made  any  decided  impres- 
sion upon  me,  I  can  say  that  I  was  never  after  so  indifferent 
hearing  the  word  of  God  as  before." 

On  one  visit  he  preached  from  Isa.  Ivii.  3,  4,  and  spoke  very 
freely  against  sorcery.  One  eifect  of  the  sermon  was  that  a 
man  who  professed  to  be  skilled  in  magic,  renounced  the  prac- 
tice ever  after.  The  following  incident  may  also  be  inserted. 
On  one  of  his  visits  he  gave  out  that  he  would  preach,  but  so 
busy  were  the  people  with  their  fishing,  that  some  supposed 
that  it  was  useless  to  try  to  collect  them  for  preaching.  He 
said,  however,  that  he  would  preach  to  the  few  that  would 
come.  He  accordingly  preached,  but  as  was  expected  to  a  very 
small  congregation ;  but  it  so  happened  that  those  who  pre- 
ferred the  fishes  to  the  bread  of  life,  had  nothing  for  their 
trouble.  No  fish  were  taken,  which  the  people  generally  re- 
garded as  a  judgment  upon  them.  The  Rev.  D.  MacNeill,  of 
Woodville,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  information  as  to  his 
visits  there,  adds,  "  His  memory  is  still  held  in  grateful  remem- 
brance by  not  a  few  here." 

He  had  also  previously  visited  St.  Mary's,  but  the  exact  dates 
of  his  visits  we  have  not  ascertained.  The  first  settlers  there 
came  from  Truro  and  built  the  first  house  at  Glenelg  in  the 
year  1801.  They  were  attracted  thither  by  the  large  amount 
of  Intervale  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  the  superior  timber 
abounding  around.*  There  were  then  two  fishermen's  huts  at 
the  lower  part  of  the  river,  one  at  Sherbrooke,  and  the  other 
four  miles  farther  down.  The  Rev.  John  Waddell,  who  had 
been  their  minister  in  Truro,  was  the  first  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  them  in  their  new  home,  but  Doctor  MacGregor  visited  thera 

*  One  individual  who  wa?  assisting  tliera  mentioned  to  me  a  curious  cir- 
cumstance. On  cutting  down  a  very  large  oak  tree,  they  found  after  cutting 
in  some  distance,  a  notch  with  very  distinct  marks  of  an  axe.  On  counting 
the  rings  which  had  grown  over  it  they  found  them  to  numher  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five,  so  that  the  place  must  have  been  visited  by  Europeans  in  1636. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREQOR,   D.D.  443 

eeveral  times,  particularly  after  settlers  began  to  move  thither 
from  the  East  River,  and  other  parts  of  Pictou.  He  preached 
in  private  houses  at  Glenelg  and  Sherbrooke.  On  his  first 
visit  the  population  was  extremely  scanty,  a  good  sized  room 
being  capable  of  holding  all  the  population  capable  of  attend- 
ing preaching.  He  also  preached  on  the  eastern  branch  of  the 
river,  and  at  Lochaber  which  had  been  settled  by  Highland 
immigrants.  There  was  then  no  road  along  the  river.  He 
travelled  along  its  banks  on  horseback,  and  from  their  steep- 
ness in  many  places  it  was  frequently  necessary  to  cross  the 
river,  to  where  the  ground  on  its  edge  was  lower.  On  one  oc- 
casion on  reaching  the  head  of  the  river,  he  remarked  that  he 
had  crossed  the  river  sixteen  times. 

On  one  of  his  trips,  either  going  or  returning  through  the 
woods  between  the  East  River  and  St.  Mary's,  in  company 
with  the  late  Alexander  Grant,  he  nearly  gave  out  entirely.  It 
was  late  in  the  fall,  and  though  they  were  on  horseback,  yet 
the  travelling  was  so  bad,  that  he  became  so  exhausted,  that  it 
was  with  difl&culty  he  reached  the  place  to  which  they  were 
going.  Though  he  still  enjoyed  good  health,  yet  his  constitu- 
tion was  in  a  great  measure  broken,  not  only  by  increasing 
years,  but  by  the  hardships  he  had  undergone,  and  he  was  not  able 
to  stand  the  fatigues  which  he  bore  so  easily  in  the  days  of  his 
strength.  Indeed  as  early  as  the  year  1816,  his  letters  speak 
of  his  finding  his  constitution  giving  way. 

On  one  of  his  visits  going  by  the  East  River  of  St.  Mary's, 
he  and  his  companions  stopped  in  a  small  hut  which  had  been 
erected  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers  by  the  late  Surveyor 
General,  on  a  lot  of  land  owned  by  him,  at  what  is  now  called 
the  Garden  of  Eden.  Some  of  those  who  were  with  him,  speak- 
ing of  the  roughness  of  the  country  at  that  time,  said  that  it 
was  not  likely  that  they  would  ever  see  a  road  there.  "Oh," 
he  replied,  "you  may  see  a  church  on  this  very  spot  yet." 
Curiously  enough  the  present  church  at  the  Garden  of  Eden  is 
built  ou  the  very  site  of  that  hut. 

In  the  year  1818  he  made  his  second  missionary  journey 
through  Cape  Breton. 


444  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

He  crossed  from  Antigonish  Harbour  to  Port  Hood  in  a  boat. 
On  the  way  over  be  was  as  usual  engaged  in  religious  conver- 
sation. Having  spoken  of  our  natural  character,  a  woman  who 
was  present  in  the  boat  could  not  be  persuaded  that  she  had  a 
bad  heart.  He  laboured  hard  to  convince  her  of  the  fact,  with 
what  success  we  have  not  ascertained. 

The  first  settlement  on  the  north  coast  of  Cape  Breton,  was 
made  by  a  Jersey  company  at  Cheticamp,  their  settlers  being 
chiefly  French  Catholics.  The  next  was  a  Captain  Smith,  in 
1787,  who  came  from  Truro  but  who  was  originally  from  Cape 
Cod.  At  the  time  of  the  Doctor's  visit,  there  were  five  or  six 
Protestant  families  at  Port  Hood,  ten  or  twelve  at  Mabou,  and 
about  as  many  at  Blargaree.  With  these  exceptions,  the  whole 
coast  from  Cheticamp  to  the  Strait  of  Canso,  was  settled  by 
Scotch  Catholics  from  Lochaber,  Strathglass,  and  some  of  the 
Western  Islands  of  Scotland. 

The  country  was  then  in  a  very  low  state.  There  was  not  a 
road  any  where,  and  most  of  the  travelling  was  in  boats  along 
shore.  The  moral  and  social  condition  of  the  people  was  not 
any  better.  As  one  described  it  to  me,  "  there  was  neither  law 
nor  gospel,  but  might  made  right." 

On  landing  at  Port  Hood  he  proceeded  to  the  south-west 
branch  of  the  Mabou  river,  through  the  woods.  Here  he  met 
Captain  Worth  mentioned  in  a  previous  part  of  the  narrative 
as  having  been  the  means  of  giving  him  a  passage  from  Char- 
lotte Town.  He  lodged  in  his  house  and  there  preached  his 
first  sermon.  While  there  he  baptized  his  family,  and  it  may 
be  mentioned,  that  his  descendants  now  form  a  large  portion  of 
the  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Mabou.  From  the  south- 
west branch  of  Mabou,  he  went  in  a  boat  to  the  south-east 
branch  of  the  same  river.  Here  he  spent  ten  days  visiting  and 
preaching,  and  then  returned  to  Port  Hood.  He  visited  and 
held  religious  exercises  in  every  house  in  Mabou  during  his 
stay  there,  and  likely  the  same  in  Port  Hood.  This  was  the 
first  preaching  that  had  ever  been  enjoyed  there,  and  the  young 
people,  even  those  arrived  at  the  age  of  manhood,  had  never 
heard  a  sermon.     It  made  a  deep  impression  upon  many.     One 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  446 

sermon  is  particularly  spoken  of.  It  was  on  the  words  of  the 
apostle,  2  Cor.  ii.  15,  16.  "  For  we  are  unto  God  a  sweet  sa- 
vour in  Christ,  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish; 
to  the  one  we  are  the  savour  of  death  unto  death,  and  to  the  other 
the  savour  of  life  unto  life." 

The  Catholics  who  were  settled  along  the  shore  were  of  the 
same  class,  and  many  of  them  the  same  individuals  who  had 
landed  at  Pictou,  and  were  so  kindly  treated  by  the  Doctor  and 
his  congregation.  He  found  among  them  a  grateful  recollec- 
tion of  his  kindness.  On  his  way  returning,  one  man,  named 
Hugh  MacLean,  took  him  from  Judique  to  the  Strait,  a  distance 
of  twelve  miles,  on  his  horse,  and  walked  himself  to  take  back 
the  animal. 

From  the  Strait  of  Canso,  he  proceeded  to  visit  two  settle- 
ments of  Protestant  Highlanders,  one  at  River  Inhabitants, 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  Strait,  and  the  other  at  West  Bay, 
about  eight  miles  farther  on.  There  was  then  no  road  between 
either  of  these  places,  the  blaze  being  the  traveller's  only  guide. 
A  man  named  MacMillan,  took  him  on  horseback  to  River  In- 
habitants. He  used  to  relate  the  following  incident  as  having 
taken  place  here  :  Some  time  after  dark  he  and  his  guide 
arrived  at  the  edge  of  a  stream  which  they  saw  no  means  of 
crossing.  By  the  light  of  the  moon  they  observed  a  house  on 
the  other  side.  On  calling  loudly  a  man  came  out,  of  whom 
they  enquired  if  there  was  any  way  of  crossing.  The  man  an- 
swered "  No,"  but  added  the  enquiry,  "  Who  are  you  ?"  The  Doc- 
tor's companion  replied,  "  This  is  Doctor  MacGrregor,  a  minis- 
ter from  Pictou."  The  man  immediately  entered  the  house, 
and  forthwith  two  stout  young  fellows  came  out,  who  ran  down 
to  the  stream,  waded  across,  and  one  taking  the  Doctor  on  his 
shoulders,  and  the  other  his  companion,  carried  them  across. 
The  family  were  Highland  Catholics,  and  entertained  them  as 
well  as  they  could  that  night,  and  in  the  morning  the  man 
volunteered  to  go  with  him  to  the  Presbyterian  settlement  to 
which  he  was  going.     The  Doctor  offered  to  pay  him  for  his 

kindness,  but  he  refused,  and  asked  him  if  he  did  not  remem- 

38 


446  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

ber  civing  such  a  poor  man  an  axe  and  a  lioe.  He  added  that 
he  was  happy  to  have  it  in  his  power  to  make  some  return  for 
his  kindness. 

AVith  one  or  two  exceptions  the  settlers  both  at  Elver  Inhab- 
itants and  West  Bay  were  Highlanders.  There  were  over 
twenty  families  at  the  latter  place,  the  number  at  the  former 
we  have  not  ascertained,  but  it  is  said  to  have  been  consider- 
able. Most  of  them  had  come  thither  by  way  of  Pictou, 
having  resided  there  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  during 
which  they  had  been  under  the  ministry  of  Doctor  MacGregor, 
and  some  of  them  looked  to  him  as  the  instrument  of  their 
first  saving  convictions  of  divine  truth.  They  were  generally 
poor  and  still  contending  with  the  difficulties  of  a  new  settle- 
ment. Several  of  the  heads  of  families  were  decidedly  pious. 
Being  few  in  number  and  all  of  one  religious  persuasion,  they 
lived  in  peace  and  harmony. 

From  the  time  of  their  settlement  here  they  had  not  heard  a 
sermon  till  he  visited  them,  and  from  the  whole  circumstances 
we  may  judge  that  his  coming  was  the  occasion  of  much  joy. 
He  could,  however,  remain  but  a  short  time  with  them.  He 
spent  one  Sabbath  at  River  Inhabitants,  and  preached  in  a  barn 
belonging  to  Mr.  Adam  MacPherson,  both  in  English  and  Gae- 
lic. In  English  he  lectured  on  Rom.  v.  1-11;  dwelling  par- 
ticularly on  verse  8.  Some  of  the  people  at  West  Bay  came 
through  to  hear  him.  On  the  Tuesday  following  he  went  to 
West  Bay,  and  preached  again,  both  in  Gaelic  and  English,  in 
a  barn  belonging  to  one  IMacIntosh.  His  subject  here  in  the 
former  language  was  Luke  xix.  9,  "  This  day  is  salvation 
come  to  this  house,  forasmuch  as  he  also  is  a  son  of  Abraham," 
with  a  comment  on  the  whole  passage,  from  the  first  to  tbe 
tenth  verse.  On  this  occasion  he  told  them  that  one  of  his 
objects  in  visiting  them  was  to  urge  upon  them  to  continue 
steadfast  in  their  Protestant  profession,  as  he  knew  that  they 
were  surrounded  by  Papists  on  all  hands. 

At  that  time  there  were  not  any  Protestant  settlers  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Brasd'or  Lake,  from  West  Bay  to  Sydney,  a 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  447 

distance  of  eighty  miles,  the  whole  shore  being  occupied  by 
Hoiiianists  ;  while  the  north  side  of  the  Lake,  where  are  now 
the  settlements  of  Malagawatch,  River  Dennis,  and  Whycogo- 
niah,  is  described  as  a  terra  incognita.  Unless  there  were  a 
Church  of  England  minister  at  Sydney,  there  was  not  a  Pro- 
testant minister  on  the  Island. 

Immediately  after  preaching  he  left  West  Bay  on  his  return 
hume,  being  anxious  to  get  a  passage  from  the  Strait  in  a  ves- 
sel, which  he  expected  to  pass  through  on  her  way  to  Pictou. 
On  his  departure,  John  MacLeod,  one  of  his  old  acquaintances, 
offered  to  accompany  him  to  the  Strait,  but  the  Doctor  would 
not  allow  him.  After  MacLeod  had  accompanied  him  a  uiile  or 
two  the  Doctor  proceeded  alone,  and  on  foot;  his  only  guides 
being  the  hiazc  and  a  pocket-compass. 

The  whole  time  spent  on  this  mission  we  know  not,  but  he 
speaks  in  one  of  his  letters  of  "six  Sabbaths,  and  some  week-day 
sermons,  being  all  the  Calvinistic  gospel  that  ever  Cape  Breton 
enjoyed,"  by  which  we  presume  he  describes  his  own  two  visits. 
In  another  place  he  speaks  of  having  on  this  visit  met  persons 
over  twenty  years  of  age  that  had  never  heard  a  sermon.  This 
must  have  been  at  Mabou,  which  had  been  settled  for  a  longer 
period  than  the  other  places  visited. 

In  the  year  1821  he  paid  his  last  visit  to  Prince  Edward  Is- 
land. Circumstances  had  rendered  Mr.  Pidgeon's  resignation 
of  the  charge  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Peter's  advisable,  and 
the  Rev.  Robert  Douglas  had  been  called  to  be  his  successor. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Nicoll  had  died  after  about  a  year's  service,  and 
Mr.  William  MacGregor,  a  preacher  from  the  General  Associate 
Synod,  had  accepted  a  call  to  be  his  successor.  Doctor  Mac- 
Gregor went  over  to  take  part  at  the  induction  of  the  former, 
and  the  ordination  of  the  latter.  On  the  latter  occasion,  on  the 
11th  October,  1821,  the  Presbytery  of  Prince  Edward  Island 
was  constituted  according  to  a  deed  of  Synod.  This  was  to 
him  a  matter  of  great  joy.  When  we  consider  the  "  long  deso- 
lations" of  the  Island,  and  his  many  toilsome  journeys  in  plant- 
ing and  watering  the  good  seed  of  the  gospel  truth  among  its 


448  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

inhabitants,  we  need  not  wonder  that  he  should  be  filled  with 
gratitude  to  God,  at  seeing  the  church  thus  completely  estab- 
lished there,  and  that  he  should  feel  as  if  his  work  in  that  part 
of  the  church  was  done. 

This  may  be  considered  as  the  conclusion  of  his  missionary 
journeys,  which,  for  about  thirty-three  years,  had  engaged  so 
much  of  his  time.  Of  the  extent  of  his  labours  in  this  respect, 
we  may  judge  from  a  statement  in  his  letter  to  the  Glasgow 
Colonial  Society,  written  about  the  year  1827,  that  he  had 
"  visited  all  the  Highland  Settlements  of  any  consequence 
(and  some  of  them  often)  in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick, 
Prince  Edward  Island,  and  Cape  Breton,  excepting  some  which 
have  been  made  within  these  few  years,  since  old  age  has  im- 
paired my  vigour."  Though,  however,  he  took  no  journeys  af- 
ter this  date  to  places  at  a  distance,  yet,  besides  regularly  and 
fully  discharging  the  duties  of  his  congregation,  he  visited 
places  around.  He  still  enjoyed  good  health,  and  his  activity 
seemed  scarcely  diminished,  but  it  was  now  directed  more  to 
the  promotion  of  the  general  interests  of  the  church,  than  to 
toilsome  journeys  for  which  he  had  not  now  the  bodily  vigour 
necessary. 

Previous  to  this,  however,  he  had  sent  to  the  press  his  Gae- 
lic poems,  by  which  he  has  had  and  continues  still  to  have  no 
small  usefulness.  With  an  intense  desire  for  the  good  of  his 
countrymen,  he  had  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  every  mea- 
sure having  that  object  in  view,  and  especially  in  what  con- 
cerned their  spiritual  welfare.  He  had  spent  his  life  in  toil- 
ing for  the  salvation,  especially,  of  those  of  them  who  had  be- 
come expatriated  to  the  Colonies,  but  he  desired  also  to  do 
something  himself  for  those  whom  he  had  left  in  his  native 
land.  With  this  view  he  had  several  years  before  conceived 
the  idea  of  rendering  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  into  Gaelic 
verse,  adapted  to  the  music  most  common  among  them,  as  has 
been  expressed,  "  that  he  might  unite  the  best  lessons  with  the 
sweetest  melodies  of  his  native  land."  These  poems  he  had 
partly  composed  years  before,  as  he  says,  "  in  part,  when  trav- 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  449 

elling  the  dreary  forests  of  America."  An  individual  informs 
me  that  going  through  the  woods  on  a  very  dark  night,  he 
heard  a  kind  of  singing,  and  in  a  little  came  upon  the  Doctor 
■who  was  riding  on  horseback,  and  humming  over  portions  of 
his  poems  as  he  composed  tliem.  As  he  had  obtained  a  little 
more  leisure  to  study,  he  had  carefully  revised  them.  From 
tlie  MSS.  in  our  possession  it  appears  that  some  of  them  were 
copied  several  times.  As  early  as  the  year  1814  we  find  him 
submitting  some  of  them  to  competent  Gaelic  scholars.  His 
design  as  well  as  the  execution  of  it,  having  met  their  ap- 
proval, he  accordingly  put  the  work  to  press  under  the  title, 
"  Dain  a  chomhnadh  crabhuidh,"*  about  the  year  181S. 

The  copyright  of  this  little  work  was  given  to  the  Glasgow 
Tract  Society,  so  long  as  they  should  be  diligent  in  circulating 
it.  The  following  list  of  the  titles  of  the  several  poems  will 
give  the  English  reader  an  idea  of  the  volume: 

1.  The  sum  of  tlie  law. 

2.  The  ten  commandments. 

3.  Praise  of  the  law. 

4.  The  covenant  of  works. 

5.  The  covenant  of  grace. 

6.  Sin — in  two  parts. 

7.  On  the  evil  heart. 

8.  The  gospel. 

"Glad  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all  people." 
"  He  will  save  his  people  from  their  sins." 

9.  Faith. 

"  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Clirist,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
"Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin." 

10.  Unbelief. 

"  He  that  bclieveth  not   is  condemned   already,  because   he  hath  not  be- 
lieved in  the  name  of  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God." 
"  Because  I  tell  you  the  truth,  ye  believe  me  not." 

11.  The  complaint. 

"Who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  body  of  death?" 

12.  Christ's  righteousness. 

"  That  I  mny  be  found  in  him,  not  having  mine  own  righteousness  which 
is  of  the  law,  but  the  rigliteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith. 

13.  The  work  of  the  Spirit. 

*  "  Poems  to  promote  Religion." 
38* 


450  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

"He  saved  us  by  the  washing;  of  regeneration,  and  the  renewing  of  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

"  Your  heavenly  Father  shrJI  give  his  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him," 

14.  Grace  commended. 

"  ^ly  grace  shall  be  sutfieient  for  thee." 

15.  The  graces  commended. 

"  The  fruit  of  tlie  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness, 
goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance." 

16.  Gospel  questions,  or,  Christ  all  in  all;  from  the  English  of  Ralph 
Erskine. 

17.  The  love  of  God — in  three  parts. 
"  God  is  love." 

18.  Death. 

"  I  know  that  tliou  wilt  bring  me  to  death." 

19.  The  resurrection. 

"  The  hour  cometli,  and  now  is,  when  they  that  are  in  their  graves  shall 
hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  they  that  hear  shall  live." 

20.  The  judgment. 

"  We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ,  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  deeds  done  in  the  body,  wliether  they  be  good  or  whether 
they  be  evil." 

21.  Heaven. 

22.  Hell. 

23.  Spread  of  the  Bible  and  the  gospel. 

We  applied  to  a  competent  Gaelic  scholar,  the  Rev.  John 
MacKinnon,  for  a  critical  estimate  of  these  poems,  who  has 
sent  us  the  following,  which,  though  written  in  the  style  of 
panegyric,  indicative  of  the  warmth  of  his  Highland  feelings, 
expresses,  we  believe,  the  views  held  of  them  generally  by  un- 
prejudiced Highlanders  ; 

"These  poems  are  not  a  conglomerate  or  an  omni-gatherum,  consisting 
of  isolated  and  fVagmentary  tliouglits,  composed  on  special  occasions  and 
on  special  subjects.  On  the  contrary  they  are  a  concise,  but  comprehen- 
sive system  of  divinity,  connected  and  arranged  in  systematic  order.  They 
appear  to  be  the  developments  of  one  conception,  carried  out  according  to 
an  original  design.  Tliey  advance  no  claims  to  distinguished  literary  pre- 
tensions, or  the  higher  flights  of  poetic  genius,  though  they  are  by  no 
means  destitute  of  both.  They  are  the  products  of  a  mind  riclily  stored 
with  gospel  trutlis,  and  possessing  the  singular  taeility  of  cxprcssir)g  these 
in  simple,  sweet,  and  harmonious  melodj'.  In  these  poems  tlie  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  Cliristianity  arc  defined,  illustrated,  and  earnestly  in- 
culcated in  a  manner  perfectly  intelligible  to  the  ignorant  and  most  ordinary 
intellects.     The  style  is  simple,  terse,  and  vigorous.     It  is  almost  entirely 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  461 

free  from  foreign  words  and  idioms.  In  the  versification  the  rhythm  is 
gently  flowing  and  melodious.  So  that  in  whatever  metre  tlic  poem  is 
composed,  the  verse  is  agreeable  and  harmonious,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  eacli  word  selected  is  the  very  best  to  express  the  particular  idea  in- 
tended. 7'hc  subject  of  each  poem  is  a  fundamental  doctrine :  such  as 
faith,  tlie  covenant  of  works,  the  covenant  of  grace,  &,c. 

It  required  no  ordinary  amount  of  natural  talent,  and  a  minute  and 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  whole  Gaelic  language,  to  produce  tliese 
poems.  Tliey  visibly  bear  the  stamp  of  originality.  There  is  not  the 
least  appearance  of  slavish  imitation  about  them.  They  are  the  spontane- 
ous gusiiings  of  a  heart,  overflowing  with  the  tendcrest  aflfection  for  expa- 
triated fellow-countrymen,  finding  expressions  only  in  harmonious  and 
holy  song.  They  have  the  singular  felicity  of  touching  tiie  tenderest  chords 
of  tiie  heart,  of  evoking  its  deepest  and  warmest  symi)athics,  and  kindling 
its  partially  sniotliered  devotional  feelings  into  a  burning  holy  flame.  They 
arc  literally  a  "  speaking  from  the  heart  to  the  heart."  It  is  almost  impos- 
sible for  a  Highlander  to  read  them  through  unaffected  or  unmoved. 

Many  of  the  Higlilanders  who  originally  immigrated  to  this  Province 
did  not  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  liberal  education..  Here  they  had  to  contend 
witli  numerous  and  untried  difficulties,  in  order  to  secure  tlie  necessaries 
of  life.  They  had,  therefore,  neither  time  nor  opportunity  to  devote  to  the 
improvement  of  their  minds.  This  being  the  general  and  almost  neces- 
sary condition  of  the  mass,  ( though  some  noble  exceptions  among  them,  in 
spite  of  these  diflicultics,  worked  their  way  up  to  no  ordinary  height  in 
literature  and  science,)  these  poems  enabled  thorn  to  obtain  a  correct  and 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  whole  system  of  divine  truth.  Tliis  was 
the  author's  design.  While  much  of  the  poetry  of  the  present  day  consists 
of  a  mawkish  sentimentalism,  dreamy  fantastic  visions,  whicli  belong  neither 
to  heaven  nor  earth,  vitiating  the  taste  for  instructive  and  substantial  read- 
ing, and  enervating  the  natural  vigour  of  the  mind,  these  contain  in  chaste 
and  polished  language  eternal  truths,  which  are  fitted  to  prepare  the  soul 
for  the  highest  state  of  possible  perfection. 

In  many  of  the  English  hymns  extant,  and  even  those  sung  in  public 
worship  by  Christian  assemblies,  there  is  a  reduplication  of  the  same  idea 
continued  through  a  number  of  verses;  in  these  poems  every  line  contains 
some  new  er  distinct  idea.  In  them  there  is  no  "  making  the  most  of 
an  idea,"  or  a  weary  waiting  for  the  inspired  gusts,  "like  angels'  visits,  few 
and  far  between."  They  seem  the  productions  of  a  mind  continually  un- 
der the  poetic  afflatus,  with  ideas  crowding  in  upon  it  and  struggling 
for  expression. 

These,  like  all  other  human  productions,  are  not  all  of  equal  merit.  Some, 
whether  from  the  nature  of  their  tlieme,  the  intensity  of  the  author's  po- 
etic inspiration,  or  the  time  at  his  command,  stand  out  in  conspicuous  su- 
periority t'rom  among  the  best.  These  are  the  poems  entitled  "  The  Gospel," 
"  The  Complaint,"  "  The  Last  Judgment,"  "  The  Righteousness  of  Christ." 
The  latter  we  consider  the  best  in  the  whole  number.  There  are  few  re- 
ligious poems  superior  to  it  in  the  Englisli  language.     It  alone  is  sufficient 


452  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

to  acquire  for  the  author  the  honourable  distinction  of"  no  ordinary  poet." 
There  are  sonic  passages  in  it  which  are  remarkable  for  their  poetic  beauty 
and  urand  subliniily. 

Ttiese  poems  were  composed  amid  many  difficulties  and  disadvantages, — 
excessive  ministerial  labours, — domestic  duties,  and  public  engagements. 
They  display  in  the  autliur,  genius,  an  extensive  knowledge  of  tlieology, 
ardent  love  to  the  Saviour,  and  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  the  eternal 
welfare  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 

The  poem  on  "  Tiie  Gospel"  we  have  translated  as  literally  as  justice  to 
the  sense  and  idioms  would  permit.  As  we  are  merely  giving  this  as  an 
cxaiaple  to  the  English  reader  of  the  nature  of  lliesc  poems,  we  did  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  translate  the  wliole  poem  ;  we  have  therefore  only  trans- 
lated fifteen  stanzas  outofthe  twenty,  which  it  contains.  Kach  line  in  En- 
glish is  a  translation  of  tlie  corresponding  line  in  Gaelic* 

Were  the  Gaelic  highly  cultivated,  there  is  no  language  better  adapted 
as  a  vehicle  for  poetic  inspiration,  impassioned  eloquence,  or  expressions 
of  tender  and  endearing  sympathy.  Though  harsh  and  unchristian  to 
the  English  ear,  to  tlie  Highlander  far  away  from  his  native  hills  and 
mountains  it  is  the  true  language  of  nature  and  of  paradise. 

These  poeiBS  immediately  became  popular  among  the  High- 
landers, particularly  the  pious  of  them,  wherever  they  were  in- 
troduced, and  are  now  well  known  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
particularly  in  the  west  Highlands.  Several  persons  from  that 
quarter  have  assured  me  that  it  is  there  quite  common  to  hear 
mothers  singing  them  to  their  children,  as  Watts'  divine  songs 
are  sung  in  many  an  English  nursery.  And  we  have  also  been 
assured  by  those  who  have  had  good  opportunities  of  knowing 
that  they  have  been  very  useful  in  giving  to  tnany  clear  views 
of  tlie  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  Ministers  who  spoke  Gaelic, 
and  had  associated  with  Gaelic  people,  have  told  me  that  they 
have  frequently  met  persons  of  little  education,  who  yet  had 
accurate  conceptions  of  divine  truth,  and  whose  statements  of 
it  were  modelled  by  the  language  of  these  poems. 

We  may  add  here  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  thorough  Gae- 
lic scholars  of  his  day,  and  that  he  composed  a  great  deal  more 
in  that  language  which  has  not  been  published.  We  have  in 
our  possession  a  copy  of  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith 
in  Gaelic,  which  seems  to  have  been  con)posed  before  any  edi- 
tion  of  it   had   been    published,  and   which  a  thorough  Gaelic 

*  These  will  be  found  ia  the  appendix  to  the  remains. 


REV.    JAMES    MACOREGOR,   D.D.  453 

scholar  has  pronounced  quite  equal  to  the  translation  now  in 
use.  We  have  also  in  our  possession  versions,  in  Gaelic  metre, 
of  more  than  a  hundred  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  and  the  most 
of  the  Scottish  Paraphrases. 

We  insert  here  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  Scotland,  partly  in 
reference  to  his  Gaelic  poems  : 

Dear  Sir  : — I  was  much  gratified  by  your  letter  received  a  few  d;iys 
ago.  To  receive  a  letter  from  an  Antiburgher  minister,  a  native  of  Glen- 
tarken,*  is  no  common  enjoyment.  Had  such  a  thing  been  promised  me 
when  I  left  home  I  would  have  had  difficulty  in  believing  it.  Great  arc  the 
changes  taking  place  in  the  Higlilands.  Different  denominations,  not  ex- 
cepting the  Baptists,  find  a  footing  in  some  of  the  wildest  parts  of  them. 
But  that  dispensation  of  Providence  which  scatters  the  Higlilanders  over 
the  face  of  the  earth,  as  it  did  the  Jews,  is  to  nie  strange  and  mysterious. 
Every  year  since  I  came  here  some  have  been  coming  this  way  from  In- 
verness, Ross,  and  Sutherland,  and  I  have  often  wondered  how  our  native 
parish  of  Comrie  enjoyed  such  a  calm.  It  seems,  however,  tliat  a  scatter- 
ing blast  has  come  at  last.  I  was  quite  surprised  at  your  account  of  the 
depopulation  and  emigration  of  my  native  vicinity.  Here  we  have  little 
or  no  connection  with  Canada,  and  though  you  had  mentioned  the  precise 
spot  where  they  have  settled,  it  is  likely  that  I  know  nothing  about  it. 
Upper  Canada,  however,  is  reckoned  a  good  place  for  emigrants,  better 
than  this,  the  soil  being  more  fertile.  Were  I  to  go  again  to  my  native 
place,  what  a  change  would  I  see  !  I  would  not  find  my  father's  house, 
and  it  is  likely  I  would  not  get  a  night's  quarters  in  the  village  without 
money.t  Has  the  same  depopulation  taken  place  throughout  the  parish  of 
Comrie? 

I  tremble  to  think  of  the  chastisement  that  seems  waiting  for  Britain. 
Those  who  are  for  and  those  that  are  against  a  revolution  are  strong,  and 
the  conflict  must  be  terrible,  if  undeserved  mercy  do  not  interpose.  The 
higher  classes  have  been  long  teaching  the  lower  to  despise  God,  and  it 
were  no  wonder  that  at  last  they  should  despise  themselves.  There  are 
many  corruptions  to  be  plucked  up,  but  their  roots  are  so  strong,  that  they 
cannot  to  all  appearance  be  plucked  without  long  and  violent  pulling.  A 
merciful  God  may,  however,  deal  more  mercifully  than  appearances  prog- 
nosticate, or  men  can  think.  There  is  surely  much  need  for  that  prayer, 
"  In  wrath  remember  mercy."  In  my  young  days  the  ministers  com- 
monl}^  prayed  for  the  downfall  of  Prelacy.  I  do  not  know  if  they  con. 
tinue  to  do  so  or  not.  The  prayer  will  surely  be  answered,  but  it  may  be 
by  terrible  things  in  righteousness. 

*  About  two  miles  from  St.  Fillan's,  where  Doctor  MacGregor  was  born. 

f  Mr.  MacXab's  reoiark  to  nie  upon  this  was  that  he  would  get  it  more  readily  than 
when  he  went  away — that  many  would  have  esteemed  it  an  honour  to  have  had  him  in 
their  houses. 


454  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

I  am  much  gratified  with  what  you  have  written  concerning  my  poor 
poems,  c-xci'|jt  the  incorrectness  of  tlic  printing,  wliich  cannot  be  helped 
tor  tlie  [)rcsent.  Oh  uuiy  it  plciisc  the  Lord  to  make  them  a  blessing  to  my 
poor  countrymen  !  Do  not  {brgi-t  to  pray  for  a  blessing  with  them.  I 
composed  tliesc  poems  in  part,  travelling  through  the  dreary  wilderness  of 
Americ.i,  hoping  they  migiit  do  sonie  good,  but  seeing  little  prospect  of  it. 
Tliere  arc  two  of  tlicm,  that  on  smoliing  tobacco,  and  Comhairlc  (Vn  T-l-cl, 
so  insignificant,  that  I  repent  of  having  sent  them  home.  If  they  have 
been  printed,  and  should  tliore  be  a  second  edition,  I  wish  them  suppressed. 
The  three  whicii  I  sent  last,  bid  as  fair  in  my  opinion  to  be  useful,  in  the 
way  of  instruction,  as  any  of  them;  and  I  would  rather  have  some  of  the 
others  suppressed  than  them.  In  the  event  of  another  edition,  you  must 
undertake  the  correction  of  tlic  press,  somehow  or  other.  If  you  cannot 
do  it  yourself,  you  must  surely  know  of  sonic  good  Gaelic  scholar  about 
Glasgow  who  will  do  it.  Most  of  the  Gaelic  books  arc  badly  printed, 
which  is  a  great  discouragement  to  readers.  The  poems  have  not  yet 
come  this  way,  and  I  know  not  whether  the  mistakes  be  few  or  many; 
but  if  possible,  I  will  send  you  a  list  of  the  Corrigenda.  I  would  have 
you  to  make  out  a  list  of  them  too,  lest  mine  should  not  reach  you.  Be- 
sides I  mean  to  send  you  one  poem  more,  viz.,  on  the  sin  and  misery  of 
man  by  nature;  also  an  additional  verse  to  two  or  three  of  those  already 
made.  Gratitude  requires  that  I  should  make  a  verse  for  the  Tract  So- 
ciety. I  wish  I  had  the  name  of  some  of  your  acquaintance  in  Greenock, 
to  whose  care  I  might  send  letters  or  parcels,  by  which  means  they  might 
reacii  you  with  less  risk  and  cost.  You  did  well  to  write  to  me  from 
Saltcoats,  for  till  I  received  yours  I  did  not  know  if  you  had  received  any 
of  mine. 

You  say  j^ou  have  some  questions  to  ask  about  the  Church  of  Nova 
Scotia,  but  I  believe  you  had  better  not  ask  them,  for  we  cannot  give  you 
very  pleasant  answers.  Ours  is  a  poor  church  indeed,  yet  we  are  striving 
to  bring  things  as  near  as  possible  to  the  inspired  rule.  We  arc  only 
organizing  a  church,  and  we  have  but  poor  materials  to  work  upon.  The 
population  of  Nova  Scotia  is  of  a  very  heterogeneous  kind,  consisting 
partly  of  natives  and  partly  of  emigrants  from  various  countries;  the 
former  reared  in  the  woods  know  nothing,  the  latter  is  rather  the  scum 
than  the  cream  of  the  countries  they  come  from.  Books  and  education 
are  scarce.  Migration  from  place  to  place  is  common,  as  land  has  been 
hitherto  plenty.  Extravagance,  especially  intemperance,  is  very  common. 
All  tiiese  things  are  against  us.  Hence  the  government  and  discipline  of 
our  church  is  more  than  one  step  from  perfection.  Our  stipends  are  so 
small  or  so  badly  paid,  that  most  of  us  are  compelled  to  take  the  aid  of  fann- 
ing, or  teaching  for  a  living.  We  have  not  our  choice  of  ministers.  A 
number  of  them  had  some  reason  for  leaving  home,  and  coming  here. 
Yet  still  we  are  making  progress.  Above  twenty  ministers  belong  to  our 
Synod.  We  arc  creeping  into  better  order.  Schools  are  multiplying.  And 
what  is  truly  wonderful  we  have  gotten  an  Academy  established  at  Pictou, 
which  bids  fair  to  send  forth  excellent  ministers  in  a  short  time.     Mr. 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  455 

MacCulloch  is  killing-  himself  carrying  it  on.  Mr.  MacKinlay  is  more 
moderate.  Our  Legislature  secni  inclined  to  give  it  their  support,  I  hope 
tlicy  will  give  it  tiirce  or  four  hundred  pounds  a  year.  Grace  be  with 
thee. 

James  MacGregor. 

P.  S.  I  have  just  heard  that  Rev.  Mr.  Nicol  is  dead,  I  believe  of  a  sore 
in  his  leg. 


456  MEMOIR   OP   THE 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

LATER   PUBLIC    LABOURS. — 1818-1826. 

"Moreover  I  will  endeavour  that  ye   maybe  able  after  my  decease  to  have 
these  things  always  in  remembrance."     2  Pet.  i.  15. 

Before  proceeding  to  what  we  design  as  the  main  subject 
of  our  present  chapter,  viz.,  to  give  an  account  of  some  of  his 
later  efforts  on  behalf  of  the  general  interests  of  the  church, 
we  shall  insert  a  letter  from  him  to  a  friend  of  his  wife's  in 
Scotland,  which  gives  some  account  of  the  state  of  the  church 
at  that  time,  and  also  shows  some  of  the  difficulties  which  the 
fathers  of  our  church  had  to  encounter  in  building  up  congre- 
gations : 

East  R:ver  of  Pictou,  Nov.  ^Glh,  1822. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  would  have  written  to  you  long  ag'o  the  news  of  our  part 
of  the  world,  but  I  have  always  .sucli  a  throng  of  work  upon  my  hands, 
that  I  am  always  far  behind.  Through  the  good  providence  of  God  our 
fliuiily  is  in  good  healtli,  at  present,  as  they  generally  arc.  Betsey  and 
Jessy  Gordon,  the  two  girls,  which  I  got  along  with  Mrs.  Gordon,  are  now 
grown  tall  and  handsome,  almost  to  the  size  of  women.  There  is  nothing 
unpromising  in  tlicir  conduct  or  cliaracter,  but  the  reverse.  As  they  are 
but  young,  it  would  perhaps  be  rash  to  say  any  thing  more  favourable.  I 
have  tliree  children  by  the  second  marriage  (besides  six  by  the  first),  all  to 
appearance  nice  good  children.  We  had  a  fourth  child  who  lived  only 
two  or  three  days.  We  have  no  reason  to  complain,  for  tliough  our  pro- 
perty is  not  great,  we  have  cnongli  to  eat  and  to  wear,  and  we  enjoy  more 
happiness  than  fulls  to  the  generality  of  our  fellow  creatures.  God  has 
made  our  lines  to  fall  in  pleasant  places. 

I   suppose   that  you   know  that  a  union   took   place  here  between  the 


REV.    JAMES    MACUREGOR,   D.D.  457 

Burghers  and  Antiburghcrs  before  tlie  union  at  home.  Before  the  union 
neither  party  had  any  subordinate  standards,  but  the  Westminster  Confes- 
sion of  Faiti).  Tiie  same  continues  to  be  the  case  since  the  union.  This 
will  not  likely  please  you,  but  if  you  were  here  a  while  it  would.  You 
Would  see  such  a  mixture  of  people  here  from  different  nations,  as  throws 
tlic  state  of  the  church  back  as  far  as  tiie  days  of  Jolm  Knox.  The  way 
in  which  congregations  arc  formed  is  somewhat  as  follows  :  Providence 
brings  into  one  neighbourhood,  say  a  dozen  of  families  from  the  low  coun- 
try of  Scotland,  two  dozen  from  tiie  Highlands,  a  dozen  from  Ireland,  a 
dozen  from  the  United  States,  a  dozen  from  Canada,  a  dozen  born  in  the 
Province,  with  a  few  more  from  England,  Wales,  Denmark,  Germany, 
&e.  Here  are  different  denominations,  and  different  opinions,  all  uniting 
to  get  and  maintain  a  minister,  for  no  one  party  is  able  to  maintain  one. 
They  lived  some  time,  perhaps  long,  without  one,  and  many  of  them  with- 
out a  Bible  or  any  religious  book.  Most  of  these  heads  of  families  are  dc- 
sirous  of  a  minister,  for  though  each  is  so  good  as  to  be  able  to  make  a 
sliift  without  one,  j'et  he  is  concerned  to  see  his  neighbour  so  bad,  and  the 
rising  generation  so  destitute.  Every  one  knows  that  he  cannot  get  a 
minister  of  his  own  sort,  therefore,  rather  than  want,  every  one  agrees  to 
take  a  good  minister  of  any  kind.  When  the  minister  comes  to  them, 
you  may  easily  see  that  his  church  must  be  a  very  infant  one.  Every  one 
thinks  he  denies  himself  a  great  deal  as  to  his  peculiar  tenets,  and  thinks 
himself  justified  in  so  doing  rather  than  want  the  gospel  altogether;  yet 
the  minister  finds  every  one  retaining  his  professions  and  prejudices  in 
less  or  more  all  their  days,  insomuch  that  he  must  deny  himself  as  much 
as  any  of  them,  in  order  to  be  able  to  stay  among  them.  Though  some 
congregations  are  more  unmixed,  yet  many  are  just  as  I  have  described. 

There  is  no  one  country  that  hath  poured  so  many  settlers  into  Nova 
Scotia  as  the  North  Highlands ;  and  they  are  in  general  ignorant,  unable 
to  read  or  write,  and  very  destitute  of  public  spirit.  On  these  accounts 
they  have  been  a  considerable  drawback  upon  our  church.  Some  of  them 
are  mixed  in  every  congregation  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  Province,  and 
in  a  few  places  there  are  congregations  almost  wholly  made  up  of  them. 
Wlien  I  came  to  this  Province,  there  were  only  four  Presbyterian  minis- 
ters in  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,'Prince  Edward  Island  (then  called 
St.  John's),  and  Cape  Breton.  Now  there  are  thirty.  Five  and  twenty  of 
tliem  belong  to  our  church,  forming  one  Synod,  and  four  Presbyteries.  Of 
tliese  twenty-five,  one  is  in  Cape  Breton,  four  in  Prince  Edward  Island, 
making  a  Presbytery,  two  in  New  Brunswick,  and  tiie  rest  in  Nova  Sco- 
tia. And  because  so  many  belong  to  us  the  designation  of  the  church  is, 
The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  other  five  call  themselves 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  four  of  them  are  in  tliis  Province  and  the  rest 
in  New  Brunswick.  If  you  ask  wiiy  these  are  not  in  our  cliurcli,  since 
we  arc  simple  Presbyterians,  1  answer,  some  of  them  are  Arminians,  and 
others  of  them  find  it  inconvenient. 

We  cannot  boast  of  great  success  in  the  gospel.  There  are  divisions 
and  offences  amongst  us  as  in  other  places,  but  still  we  do  not  labour  ia 
39 


458  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

vain.  It  has  been  u  great  loss  to  us  that  the  General  Associate  Synod 
could  not,  or  did  not,  send  to  us  Gaelic  ministers.  On  this  account  High- 
landers here  applied  to  the  Churcli  of  Scotland  and  got  ministers,  some  of 
whom  are  not  sound,  and  others  too  complaisant. 

All  Picfou  was  my  congregation  when  I  came  here  thirty-six  years  ago, 
now  it  contains  five  congregations  belonging  to  our  church;  and  one  be- 
longing to  the  Church  of  Scotland,  merely  because  wc  could  not  get  them 
a  Gaelic  minister.  And  I  fear  tlicre  will  soon  be  another  for  tlic  same 
reason.  God  can  bring  good  out  of  evil,  and  does  it.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  difficulty  of  getting  ministers,  we  would  not  have  thought  so  soon  of 
providing  ministers  for  ourselves.  We  liave  now  gotten  a  college  estab- 
lished in  Pictou,  where  we  can  educate  niinistcrs  for  the  church  here,  and 
the  young  men  born  and  taught  here  will  suit  the  country  better  than 
tliose  who  come  from  Scotland.  It  is  but  a  small  college,  having  as  yet 
but  two  professors,  but  they  are  able  and  excellent  men,  fit  for  their  pro- 
fession,  able  to  give  high  degrees  of  learning  to  the  students,  and  tiiough 
the  college  be  little,  we  hope  it  will  grow  great,  and  it  has  been  already  so 
expensive,  that  it  is  a  wonder  we  have  made  it  out  at  all.  But  God  was 
with  us,  and  stirred  up  the  Government  and  others  to  help  us  above  our 
expectation.  We  have  built  a  house  which  cost  about  fifteen  hundred 
pounds,  and  we  have  furnished  it  with  a  considerable  library,  and  philo- 
sophical apparatus.  For  some  years  past  we  have  gotten  four  hundred 
pounds  from  the  Government  for  its  support,  and  we  expect  that  it  will  be 
continued  annually.  We  will  need  every  year  new  books,  and  new  arti- 
cles to  the  apparatus,  more  than  wc  can  provide,  but  the  same  God  who 
has  helped,  we  hope  will  still  help. 

The  Church  of  England  is  the  Established  Church,  but  it  is  not  estab- 
lished here  as  it  is  at  home,  for  none  are  obliged  to  pay  to  it  but  its  own 
people.  There  is  no  religion  established  in  Nortli  America,  as  the  churclies 
are  established  in  Scotland  and  England.  None  is  compelled  to  support 
any  religion  except  the  one  that  pleases  him,  and  in  many  places  not  even 
that. 

In  this  Province  and  through  almost  all  North  America  there  are  con- 
siderable numbers  of  Wesleyan  Methodists — zealous  Arminians,  and  Bap- 
tists— zealous  Calvinists.  Also  considerable  numbers  of  Papists;  in 
Canada,  by  far  the  majority,  for  the  majority  of  the  people  are  of  French 
descent.  There  are  in  Canada  five  or  six  Presbyterian  ministers,  but  there 
is  little  communication  between  us  and  Canada,  and  we  know  little  what 
they  are  doing.  We  know  in  general  that  religion  is  there  in  a  very  low 
state. 

Wc  know  better  about  the  United  States,  for  they  have  many  religious 
newspapers,  some  of  which  we  take.  The  number  of  religious  people 
there  arc  not  many  compared  with  the  number  of  the  population  at  large, 
but  they  have  a  great  deal  of  zeal  and  activity.  They  [have]  thirteen  hun- 
dred Presbyterian  congregations,  but  they  have  [also  many]  Baptists,  and 
Methodists,  and  all  of  them  zealous  to  spread  their  [principles.]  The  As- 
sociatc  Reformed  Synod  have  lately  joined   the    Presbyterian   [Chuich.] 


REV.    JAMES    aiACGREGOR,    D.D.  469 

Their  Bibln  Societies  arc  endeavouring^  to  pupi)ly  the  whole  of  North  and 
SdUth  America  with  Bibles.  Tiieir  Missionary  Societies  have  a  great  deal 
ot"  employment.  1st.  Tiiey  send  Missionaries  to  [the  new]  settlements. 
It  is  said  that  it  would  require  seven  thousand  ministers  [to.supply]  the 
vacancies  within  their  hounds.  But  many  places  [arc  small.]*  2ud.  They 
send  Missionaries  to  the  lieathen  Indians  [farthest]  in  the  woods,  both  to 
civilize  and  g-ospelizc  tiiem.  Tlic  United  States  Governtnent  have  lately 
become  far  more  friendl}'  to  the  Indians  than  they  were  formerly.  They 
give  a  good  deal  of  money  to  teach  them  reading,  &c.  They  have  mis- 
sionaries in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  about  twenty  degrees  to  the  north  and 
west  of  Otalieite,  where  Providence  wonderfully  opened  the  door  to  them, 
for  when  they  landed  they  found  the  idols  burnt,  and  the  priest  among  the 
foremost  to  take  them  by  tiic  hand.  They  have  missionaries  at  Jerusalem, 
in  the  East  Indies,  tlic  Burman  Empire,  &c.  They  have  many  other 
Societies  for  which  I  have  not  room. 

Mrs.  MacGregor  joins  in  kindest  respects  to  you  and  Christy,  and  other 
relations.     She  can  never  forget  your  kindness  to  her  father. 
I  am,  Dear  Sir,  Yours,  «fec., 

James  MacGregor. 

The  present  seeuis  a  suitable  opportunity  of  remarking  that 
in  this  year  (  1822),  the  Senatus  Acadeuiicus  of  the  University 
of  Ghisgow  unanimously  resolved  to  confer  upon  him  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  for  though  we  have  been  hitherto 
speaking  of  him  as  the  Doctor,  it  lias  only  been  by  anticipation, 
that  we  could  apply  the  title  to  him.  This  act  was  honoura- 
ble to  all  con«erned.  Considering  the  standing  of  the  institu- 
tion, the  rareness  with  which  such  honours  are  sent  across  the 
Atlantic  from  the  other  side,  and  the  circumstance  of  its 
coming  unsolicited  and  unexpected  on  his  part;  it  could  not 
but  be  pleasing  to  his  mind,  as  it  was  creditable  to  the  institu- 
tion, that  his  character,  attainments  and  labours,  should  be  recog- 
nized in  this  manner. 

His  domestic  and  congregational  history  at  this  period  pre- 
sents nothing  requiring  particular  remark.  But  it  was  a  time 
of  great  activity  on  his  part,  on  behalf  of  the  general  interests 
of  the  church.  We  therefore  go  back  a  little  to  give  some  ac- 
count of  the  principal  efforts  of  this  kind.  First  and  chief 
among    the    objects   which    excited    his    zeal   was   the    Pictou 

*  The  worcls  in  brackets  we  have  supplied,  as  those  parts  of  the  letter  had  been  worn 
away. 


460  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

Academy.  The  origin  of  this  institution  has  been  already  re- 
ferred to,  and  his  letters  already  given  manifest  his  interest  in 
its  prosperity.  We  shall  give  another  extract  of  the  same 
kind.  Writing  to  Doctor  Keir  on  the  13th  March,  1818,  he 
says, 

"At  present,  I  have  no  news  but  that  the  Prince  Regent  has  approved 
of  the  Act  for  founding  an  Academy  or  College  at  Pictou.  This  is  a 
measure  which  I  hope  will  set  our  church  upon  its  feet.  I  hope  we  shall 
have  ministers  of  our  own  raising,  from  age  to  age.  Oh,  what  a  subject 
for  prayer  and  praise !  The  House  of  Assembly  is  now  sitting,  and  Mr. 
MacCulioch  is  in  Halifax  trying  to  get  money  for  it.  In  my  next,  I  hope 
to  tell  you  of  his  success.  But  should  we  be  disappointed  this  year,  we 
must  persevere,  till  we  be  heard  for  our  importunity.  I  trust  the  Lord 
will  provide,  though  we  may  be  put  to  our  shifts.  Pray  continually  for 
the  establishment  and  enlargement  of  this  Seminary.  It  is  the  most  con- 
venient to  your  Island  that  can  be,  not  to  be  in  it.  Solicit  donations  for 
it  from  all  sorts  of  persons,  especially  rich  bachelors,  let  them  leave  some- 
thing handsome  in  their  wills  for  it." 

The  institution  had  now  gone  into  successful  operation.  But 
it  was  doomed  to  encounter  a  formidable  opposition,  to  strug- 
gle long  against  fearful  odds,  and  at  length  to  sink  in  the  bil- 
lows of  political  contention.  It  scarcely  belongs  to  our  subject 
to  give  the  history  of  these  struggles.  We  shall,  however, 
without  entering  upon  details,  indicate  the  source  of  the  oppo- 
sition, and  the  nature  of  the  contests  which  for  some  time  agi- 
tated the  public  mind  of  Nova  Scotia. 

At  that  time  the  only  other  institution  in  the  Province,  for 
the  teaching  of  the  higher  branches  of  learning,  was  Kings' 
College  at  Windsor,  which  was  under  the  control  of  the  Church 
of  England.  One  of  the  statutes  by  which  it  was  governed 
ran  as  follows,  "  No  member  of  the  University  shall  frequent 
the  Romish  mass,  or  the  meeting-houses  of  Presbyterians,  Bap- 
tists, or  Methodists,  or  the  Conventicles,  or  places  of  worship, 
of  any  other  dissenter  from  the  Church  of  England,  or  where 
divine  service  shall  not  be  performed  according  to  the  liturgy 
of  the  Church  of  England,  or  shall  be  present  at  any  seditious 
or  rebellious  meeting."     And  by  another  By-Law,  degrees  were 


RKV.    JAMES    MACGREQOR,    B.D.  461 

confined  to  those  who  would  previously  subscribe  "  the  thirty- 
nine  articles"  of  the  Church  of  England. 

From  the  very  commencement  of  the  Pictou  Institution,  the 
bishop  lent  all  his  influence  for  its  destruction,  because,  as  he 
said,  "on  its  rise  or  decline  depends  the  depression  or  advance- 
ment of  the  College  at  Windsor."  It  must  be  remembered  in 
addition,  that  not  only  was  the  Church  of  England  recognized 
by  law  as  the  Established  Church,  but  wielded  almost  uncon- 
trolled influence  in  the  Government.  The  old  Council  of  XII 
was  virtually  the  ruling  power  of  the  country.  It  sat  with 
closed  doors,  and  possessed  both  executive  and  legislative  func- 
tions, being  not  only  the  upper  House  of  the  Legislature,  but 
also  the  advisers  of  the  Governor.  Of  this  body  the  bishop  was 
a  member,  and  in  its  measures  took  an  active  part,  while  the 
largo  majority  of  the  other  members  belonged  to  the  same  body. 
While  liberal  minded  members  of  the  Church  of  England  sup- 
ported the  Pictou  Academy,  yet  the  majority  of  the  council 
combined  to  maintain  the  monopoly  of  education  which  the 
Church  of  England  had  long  enjoyed. 

Had  the  fathers  of  our  church,  in  founding  and  maintaining 
the  Pictou  Academy,  placed  it  in  immediate  connection  with 
the  church,  and  not  looked  to  the  government  at  all,  it  would 
undoubtedly  have  been  feeble  for  some  time,  but  they  would 
have  avoided  all  the  irritating  controversies  in  which  they 
were  plunged  for  years,  and  the  Institution  would  have  gradually 
acquired  strength.  But  the  friends  of  the  Institution  looked 
to  the  legislature  for  a  charter,  and  for  money  to  support  it. 
The  House  of  Assembly  were  always  ready  to  yield  to  their 
claims.  Grants  were  given,  from  year  to  year,  and  for  several 
years  in  succession  they  passed  a  bill  granting  a  permanent  en- 
dowment, but  this  was  as  often  thrown  out  in  the  Council;  they 
at  length  also  negatived  the  annual  vote,  which  had  been  given 
for  several  years.  On  one  occasion  when  a  permanent  bill  was 
sent  up,  they  sent  down  several  amendments,  or  rather  a  bill 
of  a  di9"ercnt  character,  excluding  Dr.  MacCulloch,  principal, 
from  the  trust,  removing  all  the  Trustees,  and  authorizing  the 
39* 


462  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

Governor  to  appoint  others  in  their  room,  and  reducing  the  in- 
stitution to  the  level  of  a  grammar  school.  This  was  of  course 
rejected  in  the  house. 

But  the  most  discreditable  opposition  came  from  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  the  County  of  Pictou,  and 
their  adherents.  The  latter,  as  we  have  seen,  were  embittered 
against  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Nova  Scotia  and  its  minis- 
ters; and  their  ministers  soon  went  beyond  them  in  virulence. 
Against  the  academy  their  chief  efforts  were  directed,  for  they 
justly  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  most  eflBcient  instruments  for 
building  up  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  its 
success  as  proportionally  injurious  to  their  own  party.  They 
therefore  opposed  it  with  a  bitterness  which  posterity  will  not 
credit. 

The  history  of  the  controversy  which  followed  does  not  pro- 
perly belong  to  this  memoir.  To  Doctor  MacCulloch  belongs 
the  honour  of  being  the  chief  instrument  in  maintaining  the 
usefulness,  nay,  the  existence  of  the  Institution  for  years.  It 
would  be  impossible  in  our  space,  even  were  it  within  our  sphere, 
to  do  justice  to  his  efforts  on  its  behalf.  His  arduous  labours 
in  teaching, — his  contending  with  the  old  Council, — his  nu- 
merous appeals  through  the  press, — his  voyages  across  the  At- 
lantic,— his  success  in  rousing  the  zeal  of  the  Church  in  Scot- 
land, we  must  pass  over,  but  it  is  due  to  the  subject  of  our 
memoir,  that  we  indicate  the  special  part  which  he  bore  in 
these  struggles. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  in- 
stitution from  its  origin.  He  contributed  always  liberally  to 
its  support,  his  first  subscription  being  £50 — $200 ;  he  was  a 
Trustee  from  its  commencement,  and  took  an  active  part  in  all 
the  measures  for  its  welfare.  His  was  that  enthusiastic  nature 
that  could  not  engage  in  a  measure  in  which  he  was  interested 
with  half  his  heart;  and  during  the  later  years  of  his  life  his 
whole  soul  seemed  occupied  by  it.  Wherever  he  went,  it 
seemed  uppermost  in  his  thoughts,  and  daily  in  his  prayers 
at  the  family    altar,  whatever  subject  might  be  omitted,  it 


REV.   JAMES    MACQREGOR,   D.D.  468 

would  be  strange  if  the  academy  did  not  find  a  place.  "  I  am 
not  ashamed,"  he  says,  "  to  acknowledge  that  a  day  seldom 
passes,  in  which  I  do  not  commend  it  in  my  prayers  to  God 
for  his  protection  and  favour ;  and  I  am  confident  that  he  will 
answer  my  prayers.  I  am  so  confident  of  it,  that  though  I 
were  to  see  it  dead,  I  would  not  despair  of  its  prosperity,  for 
I  would  believe  that  it  would  rise  again  from  the  dead." 

And  as  to  the  opposition  to  it,  though  he  never  manifested 
any  bitterness  personally  against  the  men  engaged  in  it,  yet  he 
regarded  it  as  something  shocking.  "  It  is  cruel  and  unnatural/' 
he  says,  "  for  any  one  who  knows  the  benefit  of  learning  to  oppose 
it.  How  unnatural  would  it  be  for  me  to  wish  that  country, 
where  I  expect  my  oS"spring  to  continue  to  the  end  of  time,  de- 
prived of  the  means  of  a  good  education,  and  either  to  consign 
them  to  ignorance  and  wretchedness,  or  compel  them  to  go  to 
another  part  of  the  world  for  their  education  !  Something  far 
off  from  natural  aff'ection  and  benevolence,  must  be  the  spring 
of  such  conduct.  To  compare  small  things  with  greatj  it  is  Wee 
eating  the  forbidden  fruit.  It  must  deprive  all  future  genera- 
tions of  all  the  good  the  institution  may  produce,  and  entail 
upon  them  all  the  evils  from  Avliich  it  is  calculated  to  relieve 
them."  lie  did  not  scruple  to  utter  the  prayer,  "  Lord  confound 
them,"  speaking  of  course  of  their  plans  and  measures.  And 
more  than  once,  he  made  one  of  those  statements,  which,  viewed 
in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  has  led  many  to  regard  him  as 
having  something  of  a  gift  of  prophecy.  He  said  that  the 
time  might  come  when  there  would  not  be  a  minister  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  in  the  County.  His  reason  for  this  opinion 
was  that  they  were  opposing  the  means  of  training  ministers  in 
this  country,  so  that  they  could  not  have  them  from  that  source, 
while  they  could  not  expect  a  continued  supply  from  Scotland. 
His  view  was  nearly  realized.  When  the  disruption  came,  of 
eight  ministers  in  the  Presbytery  of  Pictou,  one  joined  the  Free 
Church,  and  six  went  to  Scotland  to  occupy  the  vacant  watch- 
towers  there,  leaving  only  a  single  minister  of  the  body  in  this 


464  MEMOIR   OP   TUB 

part  of  the  Province,  and  from  that  time  till  the  present  hour 
they  have  beeu  only  partially  supplied  with  preaching. 

The  two  addresses  which  we  have  given  among  his  remains, 
are  sufficient  to  indicate  his  deep  interest  in  the  Institution. 
And  his  zeal  was  one  principal  means  of  rousing  the  energies 
of  the  church  on  its  behalf.  The  church  at  large  did  not  sec- 
ond him  in  his  efforts,  but  the  congregations  in  the  County  of 
Pictou,  particularly  those  in  the  centre  which  had  enjoyed 
more  fully  and  regularly  his  ministry,  put  forth  exertions, 
wiiich,  considering  their  circumstances  at  the  time,  have  not 
been  surpassed,  and  we  think  not  equalled  by  any  efforts  of 
the  church  here  since.  These  efforts  were  in  a  large  measure 
the  result  of  his  appeals.  Such  was  the  veneration  in  which 
he  was  held,  that  his  recommendation  was  sufficient  to  elicit 
their  liberality,  and  many  of  them  believed  that  the  success  of 
the  Institution  was  more  dependent  on  his  prayers,  than  on 
Doctor  MacCulloch's  literary  attainments  or  abundant  labours. 
The  late  Rev.  D.  A.  Eraser  said  to  a  member  of  my  congrega- 
tion, ''You  are  always  talking  of  Doctor  MacGregor,  but  Doc- 
tor MacCulloch  is  doing  more  with  that  Academy  for  your 
church  than  ever  Doctor  MacGregor  did."  "  Oh,  yes,"  was 
the  reply,  "  but  wasn't  it  Doctor  MacGregor's  prayers  that 
brought  Doctor  MacCulloch  there  ?" 

While  from  this  time  to  the  close  of  his  life  the  Academy  ab- 
sorbed more  of  his  attention  than  any  one  object,  yet  so  far  from 
neglecting  other  Christian  Institutions,  he  was  foremost  in  this 
part  of  the  world,  in  founding  and  maintaining  them.  The 
Bible  Society  still  retained  its  place  in  his  affections,  and  prin- 
cipally through  his  exertions  something  was  remitted  almost, 
every  year,  and  a  number  of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  circulated. 
But  the  Committee  had  not  met  for  some  years,  and  subscrip- 
tions had  fallen  away  so  much,  that  he  considered  the  Society 
extinct.  The  following  is  a  draft  of  a  letter  written  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  parent  Society  on  the  6th  July,  1823  : 

"I  received  your  letter  of  the  11th  of  March,  and  some  time  after  the 
three  cases  of  books,  to  which  it  refers,  containing  one  hundred  French 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  465 

Bibles,  and  five  hundred  and  seventy-three  French  Testaments,  and  also 
firty  English  Bibles,  and  one  huiuireil  English  Testaments.  I  hud  some 
time  beti)rc  received  Mr.  IJrundrani's  lutter  giving  notice  of  the  Committee's 
resolution  to  send  these  books. 

"  I  liavc  also  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Turn, of  May 
7th,  1823,  witii  two  cases  of  books,  containing  fitly  Gaelic  Bibles,  two 
hundred  Gaelic  Testaments,  twenty  French  Bibles,  and  twenty-seven 
Frencli  Testaments. 

"  I  have  written  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  another  letter  of  July 
31st,  18'33,  from  E.  F.  Ronnabcrg,  and  two  cases  containing  fifty  Gaelic 
Bibles,  one  hundred  Gaelic  Testaments,  eighty  English  Bibles,  and  thirty- 
seven  English  Testaments. 

"  The  sole  reason  why  1  did  not  sooner  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  these 
two  last  mentioned  letters  with  their  cases,  is  that  I  could  send  no  money 
to  the  Committee.  The  Bible  Society  here  is  really  dead,  but  I  cannot 
bear  the  thoughts  of  publicly  announcing  its  death  yet,  as  Mr.  Dawson 
and  I  have  some  hope  that  we  may  yet  get  it  revived.  I  am  ashamed  and 
grieved  that  we  do  so  little  for  the  Bible  Society,  or  rather  that  we  are  such 
a  burden  upon  it.  It  is  true  that  there  is  scarcely  any  money  with  us,  so 
tliat  the  most  willing  can  do  but  little.  And  we  have  two  other  objects  of 
great  importance  to  vital  religion,  which  occasion  a  neglect  of  the  Bible 
Society,  at  least  for  a  time :  one  is  an  Academy  for  providing  preachers  of 
the  gospel  for  this  and  the  neighbouring  Provinces,  and  the  other  is  a  Do- 
mestic Missionary  Society,  for  supporting  preachers,  and  supplying  weak, 
scattered,  and  destitute  settlements,  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  A 
Sabbath-school  Society  is  also  beginning  among  us,  and  we  cannot  get 
people  to  see  the  propriety  of  dividing  their  little  mites  among  four  objects. 
Meantime  I  beg  leave  to  express  to  you,  my  admiration  of  the  exertions 
of  the  Bible  Society,  and  of  the  grace  and  mercy  bestowed  upon  it  by  the 
great  Author  of  the  Scriptures.  Though  some  of  these  auxiliaries  may 
fail  as  we  do,  I  am  confident  the  promise  says  to  it, '  The  Lord  will  in- 
crease you  more  and  more,  you  and  your  children.' 

"A  part  of  the  first  two  cases  before  mentioned  is  yet  on  hand,  also  the 
greater  part  of  the  second  two,  and  the  whole  of  the  three  cases  last  re- 
ceived. It  is  extremely  difficult  to  know  how  to  dispose  of  the  Gaelic 
Bibles.  I  am  loth  to  give  away  the  Society's  property  for  nothing,  and  as 
loth  to  have  the  Bibles  and  Testaments  lying  on  hand,  not  doing  good. 
None  have  been  sold  for  their  full  prices.  Part  of  them  have  been  given 
away  gratis.  I  have  sold  a  number  of  them  upon  credit  more  than  a  year 
ago,  to  persons  whom  I  knew  and  believed  to  be  conscientious  people, 
and  not  altogether  poor,  and  as  yet  I  have  not  received  a  farthing  of  the 
price  of  them,  so  difficult  it  is  to  get  money." 

The  Secretary  wrote  in  reply.  "The  apparently  gloomy 
prospect  respecting  the  dissemination  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
around  you,  which  you  so  much  lament,  was  deeply  felt  hy  every 


4G6  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

member  of  the  Committee;  but  amidst  all,  they  think  that  the 
new  Institutions  springing  up  amongst  you,  '  an  Academy  to 
provide  gospel  ministers,  a  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  and 
Sunday-schools/  will  ere  long  create  some  demand  for  the  stock 
you  hold."  lie  then  proceeds  to  state  some  particulars  of  the 
Society's  eflForts  in  translating  and  circulating  the  Scriptures. 

This  letter  was  the  means  of  reorganizing  the  Society  upon 
the  footing  on  which  it  has  ever  since  continued,  and  accord- 
ingly in  his  next  letter,  remitting  £50  sterling,  he  says,  "  In 
my  last  I  wrote  to  you  that  our  Society  was  dead,  but  your 
cheering  answer  to  my  desponding  letter,  was  the  means  of  re- 
viving it,  and  I  trust  it  will  live." 

The  Domestic  Missionary  Society  was  formed  in  consequence 
of  the  success  of  the  Pictou  Academy.  Several  students  were 
either  ready  to  be  licensed  or  already  on  the  field.  It  was 
formed  on  the  idea  then  prevalent,  of  conducting  the  Christian 
enterprises  of  the  day,  not  by  the  church  itself  but  by  societies. 
Its  primary  rule  was,  "  The  Society  shall  be  denominated  tlie 
Domestic  Missionary  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Evangelical 
Doctrine  and  Presbyterian  principles  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  the 
adjacent  Provinces;  and  its  design  shall  be,  to  provide  instruc- 
tion for  those  who  are  destitute  of  the  ordinances  of  religion, 
to  organize  them,  and  to  assist  them  in  obtaining  ministers, 
either  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  from 
any  denominations  of  Presbyterians  in  Scotland."  This  gene- 
ral basis  was  adopted  in  the  hope,  that  the  Presbyterian  minis- 
ters from  the  Established  Church  might  co-operate  in  the  pro- 
motion of  its  objects. 

In  this  Institution  Doctor  MacGregor  took  a  deep  interest. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  him  to  Doctor  Keir  on 
the  subject : 

East  River  of  Pictou,  Mai/  IKh,  1824. 

Rev.  Dear  Sir  : — With  this  I  send  you  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  copies 

of  a  plan  of  a  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  whicli  you  arc  to  dispose  of 

to  the  best  of  your  judgment ;  suppose  three  dozen  to  yourself,  three  to 

Mr.  MacGregor,  and  three  to  Mr.  Douglass,  two  to  Mr.  Hyde,  one  to  Mr. 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  467 

Evans,  and  one  to  Mr.  MacLcnnan.  You  will,  however,  know  best  your- 
self how  to  disipose  of  tlicin.  Wo  do  not  cxpcet  any  co-operation  or  aid 
from  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  here.  But  I  have  a  notion 
that  Mr.  MacLennan  is  more  evangelical  and  sociable  than  those  liere, 
but  I  may  be  mistaken. 

Our  Presbytery  have  now  nine  students  of  divinity  upon  trials  for  license, 
and  I  hope  that  seven  of  them  will  soon  be  licensed.  Between  New 
Brunswick  and  Cape  Breton,  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  tliem  as  mission- 
aries, but  little,  and  in  many  cases,  no  wages.  It  therefore  becomes  the 
duty  of  o-ur  church  to  help  them  on.  A  Missionary  Society  should  be 
formed  in  every  congregation,  and  every  member  of  the  congregation 
should  be  a  member  of  the  Society.  Then  we  could  give  some  help  to  the 
missionaries  and  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  You  and  your  brethren  are 
to  put  these  papers  into  the  hands  of  such  persons,  as  you  and  they  think 
will  be  most  zealous  and  active  in  promoting  the  design.  You  can  fold 
llu'in  up  as  letters,  and  address  each  of  them  to  one  or  more  individuals. 
There  is  blank  space  lel't  for  adding  arguments  of  your  own  if  you  think 
proper. 

Tliere  is  a  prospect  that  one  of  these  young  men  shall  be  called  to  the 
Upper  Settlement  of  this  river,  and  that  I  shall  have  only  one  place  of 
preaching  in  my  old  age.  Should  God  prosper  this  prospect,  it  will  be 
great  ground  of  gratitude.  Mrs.  MacGregor  joins  in  best  respects  to  Mrs. 
K.  and  family,  Mr.  MacGregor,  and  Mr.  Douglass  and  their  families,  and 
all  other  friends  and  acquaintances, 

I  remain,  Rev.  Sir,  Yours  sincerely, 

James  MacGregor. 

P.  S.  There  is  as  much  need  of  fervent  prayer  as  ever. 

In  carrying  out  the  objects  of  this  Institution,  he  endeavoured 
to  form  local  societies  in  the  diiferent  congregations,  anxiliary 
to  the  parent  Institution.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  circular 
sent  to  different  persons  for  the  purpose  : 

PiCTOu,  15/A  December^  1823. 
Sirs  : — In  requesting  your  attention  to  the  religious  stale  of  the  Presbyte- 
rians of  these  Provinces,  I  trust  tliat  you  will  allow  the  importance  of  the 
subject  to  plead  my  excuse.  Though  there  are  a  considerable  number  of 
clergymen  employed  among  them,  many  are  still  destitute  of  the  means 
of  instruction ;  and  1  feel  an  anxiety,  that  these,  as  well  as  others,  should 
enjoy  advantages  so  necessary  to  their  present  and  eternal  welfare.  From 
an  earnest  desire,  therefore,  to  promote  their  religious  improvement,  I  have 
drawn  up  tlie  following  scheme  of  a  society  for  this  purpose,  which  I  beg 
leave  1o  submit  to  you,  as  friends  of  the  gospel  and  of  Presbyterian  prin- 
ciples. I  feel  satisfied  that  the  design  itself  will  receive  your  approbation  ; 
and  as  it  must  be  important  to  the  execution  of  the  measure,  to  concentrate 
upon  it,  as  extensively  as  possible,  the  energy  of  the  Presbyterian  popula- 


4G8  MEMOIR   OF    THE 

tion,  I  would  respectfully  solicit  your  countenance  and  aid.  He  who  has 
supplied  us  witli  tiie  bounties  of  his  Providence,  and  the  ordinances  of  his 
grace,  requires,  as  a  proof  of  our  gratitude  to  liiniself,  tliat  we  impart  our 
enjoyments  to  the  destitute.  And  of  all  beneficence,  tiiat  whicli  diffuses 
the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  is  the  most  blessed  and  permanent  in  its  fruits. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

James  MacGregor. 

Principally  by  his  zeal  such  congregational  societies,  and 
also  ladies'  penny-a-weck  societies  were  formed,  which  continued 
for  a  while,  and  raised  liberal  contributions  for  missionary  pur- 
poses; but  it  does  appear  as  if  he  were  ahead  of  his  time,  and 
as  if  the  church  here  were  not  prepared  for  carrying  out,  effi- 
ciently and  systematically,  those  schemes  of  Christian  enter- 
prise, in  which  she  has  since  engaged  so  zealously.  The  ministers 
in  the  county  of  Pictou  were  almost  the  only  members  of  Synod, 
who  entiered,  with  heart  and  mind,  into  this  and  the  other  mea- 
sures then  projected  for  the  extension  and  perpetuation  of  the 
church  ;  and  the  congregations  there  almost  the  only  part  of  the 
church,  that  showed  any  great  liberality  on  their  behalf. 

About  the  same  time  the  Pictou  Sabbath-school  Society  was 
formed.  He  preached  the  first  sermon  before  it  on  the  24th 
Sept.,  1823 ;  of  which  the  following  is  his  outline  : 

Prov.  xx'u.  6.  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he 
is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 

The  world  is  in  continual  progress.  One  generation  passeth  away  and 
another  cometli.  A  generation  neither  comes  nor  goes  at  once,  but  by  de- 
grees. Every  moment  some  are  coming  and  some  are  going.  But 
whither  do  they  go?  To  appear  before  their  Judge,  to  enjoy  the  favour  or 
.suffer  the  indignation  of  God  for  ever,  according  as  their  works  have  been. 
It  is,  therefore,  of  great  importance  to  train  the  young  generation  in  the 
way  wherein  they  should  go.  Some  of  them  are  daily  leaving  the  world 
prepared  or  unj)repared.  Some  are  leaving  the  schools  and  entering  the 
stations  of  men,  where  they  train  others  well  or  ill  as  they  are  trained 
themselves. 

We  shall  [consider]  I.  What  is  the  way.  II.  The  training,  and  III. 
Tlie  promise. 

I.  The  way.  There  is  only  one  way  of  salvation  and  of  duty  for  young 
and  old.  "  I  am  tlic  way,  &,c."  Tliere  is  such  a  way  as  requires  all  the 
wisdom  of  the  wise  and  good  to  keep  within  it,  and  such  a  way  as  chil- 
dren can  walk  in.     "  The  wayfaring  men  though  fools  shall  not  err  there- 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  469 

in."  A  child  must  receive  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  and  walk  in  him,  other- 
wise  he  is  out  of  the  way  in  whicli  he  should  go.  His  life  murt  be  a  life 
of  failh  upon  the  Son  of  God,  wiio  loved  iiiiii,  ollierwisc  he  does  not  walk 
in  the  way  in  whicli  he  should  go.  He  must  have  a  life  of  holy  obedience, 
a  lite  of  obedience  in  love.  He  must  grow  in  grace  and  tlie  knowledge  of 
our  I>ord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  according  to  his  capacity  and  oppor- 
tiiiiily. 

'J'liercforc  a  child  must  be  diligent  to  gain  acquaintance  with  the  truth 
— to  know  (^lirist  as  God  and  man,  in  his  threefold  office  of  prophet,  priest, 
and  king;  his  obedience,  sufferings,  and  death,  to  be  for  sinners,  to  free 
t!:em  from  iiell  and  pureiiase  heaven  for  them  ;  the  new  birth,  his  [enter- 
ing upon]  the  way  vi'herein  a  cliild  should  go.  If  one  is  not  born  again 
he  cannot  see  tlie  kingdom  of  God  ;  the  love  of  Christ  [inviting]  to  the  way 
wherein  a  child  should  go.  He  encourages  the  love  of  children,  by  say- 
ing, "  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  me,"  and  by  saying,  "  Have 
ye  never  read,  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings,  (fcc."  He  took 
a  little  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst,  saying,  "Whoso  recciveth  one  such 
little  child,  &c.,"  and  "Whoso  shall  offend  one  of  these  little  ones  which  be- 
lieve  in  me,  &.C."   Matt,  xviii.  2,  5,  6. 

But  in  order  to  know  Christ  as  a  precious  Saviour,  children  must  know 
their  sins,  their  guilt  and  follies ;  and  to  know  their  sin  it  is  necessary 
that  tiiey  know  the  law  which  forbids  sin,  and  they  must  believe  the  Bible 
account  of  the  entrance  of  sin  into  the  world. 

II.  The  training.  A  child  knows  no  other  way  until  he  is  taught,  but 
God  has  made  him  capable  of  being  taught  very  young,  as  we  may  see  by 
his  receiving  teaching  in  temporal  things;  and  he  hath  provided  them 
parents,  friends,  and  teachers,  capable  of  training  them.  And  an  honour- 
able and  important  charge  he  hath  committed  to  them.  "  Take  tiiis  child 
and  nurse  it  for  me."  In  training,  their  minds  must  be  informed  and 
directed. 

1.  They  must  be  informed  of  tlie  truths  mentioned  before,  according  to 
their  capacity,  and  in  as  plain  terms  as  possible.  They  must  be  fed  with 
milk  not  with  strong  meat.  Timothy.  His  mother  taught  him  to  know 
the  Scriptures  from  his  childhood.  Those  who  (rain  must  mark  if  they 
understand,  and  when  they  do  not,  endeavour  to  make  it  plainer.  Teach 
tliem  first  easy  things. 

2.  They  must  be  directed  and  showed  how  to  do  their  duty.  Christ 
taught  his  disciples  to  see,  to  feel,  &e.  Hos.  xi.  1-4.  The  way  must  be 
strewed  with  roses.  Difficulties  and  prejudices  removed;  with  a  strict 
adherence  to  truth;  their  questions  must  be  answered  with  discretion. 

[1.]  By  conversation,  Deuf.  vi.  6.  "Thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  to 
thy  cliildren  and  talk,  &c."  Religion  should  be  tiie  talk  of  the  parents, 
that  they  can  say,  "  We  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which  we  see  and 
hear."  This  is  too  seldom  done.  The  children  would  mind  it  like  other 
things,  if  it  were  commonly  talked  of. 

[2.]  Rj  teaching  them  to  read  and  understand  the  word  of  God,  by  giv- 
ing them  questi'jns,  psalms,  &c.,  to  learn  and  understand,  and  to  teach 
40 


470  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

them  to  find  Christ  in  tlicir  questions  and  psalms,  since  he  is  really  in 
them. 

[3.]   By  example. — Children  are  apter  to  feel  example  than  precept. 

HI.  Tills  is  a  kind  and  good  promise  hy  the  God  of  love  and  truth, 
to  induce  trainers  to  train  diligently,  and  children  to  be  trained. 

1.  This  promise  is  always  actually  i'ulfilled  when  it  can  be  fairly  pleaded. 
It  lias  often  been  visibly  accomplished  in  the  preservation  of  the  children 
of  godly  parents,  from  forsaking  the  way  of  duty.  Tlie  greater  part  of 
them  will  keep  the  way,  ( in  which  they  were  trained,)  but  God  often 
exceeds  his  promise  by  taking  untrained  sinners  under  his  gracious 
cliarge. 

2.  It  would  always  be  visibly  aecomplislicd  if  there  were  no  fault  in 
the  training  of  parents  especially,  wliieh  prevents  the  aceomplishment  of 
tlie  promise.  Good  people  train  tlieir  children  with  great  satisfaction  till 
they  think  tlicm  out  of  danger,  and  then  they  slack  their  hand,  and  the 
children  find  the  world  too  strong  for  them." 

This  Society  was  for  several  years  very  successful,  and  did  a 
large  amount  of  good  throughout  the  County  of  Pictou  and 
adjoining  districts.  It  employed  agents  in  establishing  schools 
where  they  did  not  exist,  and  in  visiting  those  that  did  exist; 
it  imported  the  improved  lesson-books,  and  library-books,  pub- 
lished by  the  British  and  American  Sabbath-school  Unions, 
as  well  as  by  private  publishers ;  raised  funds  which  were  em- 
ployed in  supplying  these  books  to  the  poorer  settlements.  In 
this  way  the  Society  was  the  means  of  introducing  Sabbath- 
school  instruction  in  many  quarters,  and  of  improving  the  char- 
acter of  the  teaching  given  in  their  instructions  throughout  the 
country. 

It  was  customary  to  have  an  annual  sermon  preached  on  its 
behalf  in  Pictou.  That  for  1826  was  preached  by  him,  of  which 
the  following  notice  appeared  in  the  Acadian  Recorder,  for 
October  21st  of  that  year: 

On  the  evening  of  Sabbath  the  1st  inst.,  there  was  preached  in  the 
Provincial  Presbyterian  Church,  by  tlie  Rev.  Doctor  MacGrcgor,  tiie 
annual  sermon  on  behalf  of  tiie  Pictou  Sabbath-school  Society.  Tlie  ])as- 
sage  selected  as  a  text  was  Prov.  viii.  17.  "  I  love  them  that  love  me,  and 
tliey  that  seek  me  early  shall  find  me."  The  discourse  was  higlily  appro- 
priate, and  obviously  excited  very  great  interest.  Tiiis  was  marked  in  the 
countenances  of  old  and  young.  The  earnestncs.s  and  elocjuence  of  the 
venerable  gentleman  seemed  to  arise  in  no  small  degree  from  the  quality 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  471 

of  a  great  portion  of  tlic  audience,  entering  upon  human  life  fraught  with 
p^iinful  and  dangerous  vicissituiies.  To  guard  thcni  against  tiiese  was  the 
design  of  his  instructions;  and  witii  tlio  same  view  lie  particularly  recom- 
mended the  Sabbath-school  sj'stem.  He  stated  that  for  the  space  of  forty 
years  he  had  preached  the  gospel  in  tiie  district  of  Pietou,  tliat  although 
he  had  reason  to  conclude,  tiiat  his  ministrations  had  been  the  means  of 
spiritual  benefit  to  some,  that  others,  though  enjoying  the  same  opportu- 
nities, had  turned  out  "miscreants  and  nuisances  in  society."  His  con- 
clusion was,  that  had  Sabbath-schools,  during  all  this  period,  been  in  exis- 
tencc,  and  judiciously  managed,  the  amount  of  Christian  morality  in  the 
scenes  where  he  had  laboured,  might  have  been  much  greater.  Tlic  na- 
ture of  the  means  employed,  as  also  the  extensive  experience  of  past 
years,  indicate  the  correctness  of  his  sentiment.  The  society  in  Pietou 
is  gradually  gathering  strength.  Tliis,  the  annual  reports  sufficiently 
show. 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter,  dated  Pietou,  February  13th, 
1827,  will  show  the  prosperous  state  of  the  society  at  this 
time: 

"  This  day  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Pietou  Sabbath-school 
Society  was  held  in  the  old  Presbyterian  Church.  The  report 
gave  a  very  flattering  account  of  the  state  of  the  schools  in 
operation,  under  the  direction  of  this  institution.  The  number 
of  schools  in  connection  with  it  is  77,  of  pupils  attending  2335, 
and  of  teachers,  198,  of  whom  19  are  females.  During  the  course 
of  last  year,  the  increase  of  schools  is  20 ;  of  scholars,  628  ;  and 
of  instructors,  73.  Within  the  same  period,  books  have  been 
imported  to  the  amount  of  £104,  10s  Qd,  sterling,  and  the  vol- 
umes circulated,  by  donation  and  sale,  are  6950.  There  are 
besides  libraries  attached  to  many  of  the  schools  belonging  to 
the  Society. 

As  long  as  he  lived  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Society,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  promotion  of 
its  objects.  The  Society  sank  a  few  years  after  his  death,  but 
not  until  its  work  was  accomplished,  by  Sabbath-school  instruc- 
tion having  been  established  as  part  of  the  regular  congrega- 
tional machinery  throughout  the  adjoining  districts. 

In  carrying  on  these  Christian  enterprises,  some  even  of  his 
brethren  in  the  ministry  took  but  little  interest,  and  he  era- 
ployed  tongue  and  pen  in  exciting  them  to  greater  exertions  of 


472  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

the  kind.  The  following  letter  of  this  kind  was  written  to  the 
Itcv.  Kobort  iJuutilass,  nut  indeed  because  he  was  remit^s  in  the 
Work,  but  merely  with  the  view  of  enlisting  him  in  these  un- 
dertakings, he  having  but  recently  arrived  in  the  country,  and 
been  newly  settled  in  the  congregation  of  Onslow  : 

"  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : — I  am  sure  tliat  if  your  zeal  is  not  more  live]}'  than 
mine,  it  is  botli  a  sin  and  siianie  to  you,  for  you  are  in  your  prime  and  1 
am  far  past  it.  It  is  true,  your  missionary  excursions  have  been  but 
sliort,  but  still  they  might  give  you  a  specimen  of  tlie  deplorable  state  of 
the  country  at  largo,  for  want  of  the  means  of  instruction.  I  have  seen 
the  principal  places  in  New  Brunswick,  Prince  Edward  Island,  and  Cape 
Breton,  and  I  know  that  they  are  in  a  most  pitiable  condition.  In  all 
New  Brunswick  there  are  only  two  Presbyterian  ministers,  the  same  in 
Prince  Edward  Island,  and  none  at  all  in  Cape  Breton.  Six  Sabbaths 
and  some  week-day  sermons  I  believe  is  all  the  Calvinistic  gospel  that 
ever  Cape  Breton  enjoyed.  There  are  many  settlements  in  it  that  never 
heard  a  sermon.  There  is  the  same  in  New  Brunswick,  at  least  a  Calvin- 
istic  sermon,  and  I  fear  the  same  may  be  said  of  several  settlements  in 
this  Province.  Sheffield,  after  waiting  (as  they  say)  twelve  years  for  a 
minister  from  the  church  of  Nova  Scotia,  has  petitioned  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

Wlien  God  shall  ask  us,  why  did  you  leave  all  these  in  your  neighbour, 
hood  so  long  without  exerting  yourselves  to  obtain  ministers  for  tiiem  ? — I 
know  no  better  answer  we  can  make  than  Cain's, — "  Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper?"  Cape  Breton  requires  two  ministers  immediatLl}', — Prince  Ed- 
ward Island,  three  besides  Nicol ;  New  Brunswick,  four  or  five ;  and  this 
Province  four  or  five.  Though  these  fifteen  were  had  within  a  year, 
other  fifteen  would  be  needed  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  years,  for  there 
are  many  settlements  now  weak,  that  will  by  that  time  be  able  to  receive 
ministers.  Indeed  the  whole  country  is  fast  filling  up  with  siimers,  but 
we  seem  to  be  fast  asleep,  and  taking  no  notice  of  their  growth,  nor  ma- 
king any  commensurate  provision  for  them.  Mr.  Sprott,  and  a  poor 
twenty  pounds  to  help  out  a  Gaelic  minister,  is  all  the  provision  we  have 
made,  which  at  best  is  very  inadequate  to  the  demand.  You  may  think 
that  several  of  these  places  I  allude  to  are  not  able  to  maintain  ministers 
just  now,  and  1  grant  it,  but  the  blame  is  wholly  ours,  who  neglected 
them  ;  for  had  we  duly  nursed  them  I  believe  we  miglit  have  fifteen  con- 
gregations in  our  church,  which  we  have  not  tliis  day.  At  the  rate  that 
wc  are  going  on,  we  will  not  supply  half  of  the  demand  for  Presbyterian 
ministers  through  this  country.  And  what  must  be  the  consequences? 
"  It  must  be  that  enlargement,  and  deliverance  will  arise  to  them  from 
another  place,  and  we  shall  be  confounded."  Siiefficld,  and  with  it  the 
must  of  New  Brunswick,  bids  far  to  to  be  lost  by  our  past  negligence,  and 
the  very  thought  of  it  should  cover  us  with  confusion,  and  arouse  us  to 
make  vigorous  efforts  for  saving  the  other  congregations. 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  478 

If  you  ask,  what  shall  I  do?  the  answer  to  that  question  is  the  main  de- 
sign of  this  letter.  I  say  tiicn,  stir  up  yourself, — your  neighbour  minis- 
ters, and  your  congregation  to  earnest  prayer  and  generous  eontribution 
for  the  spiritual  good  of  their  destitute  neigiibours.  Take  pains  to  inform 
yourself  and  tlicni  of  the  depravation  of  the  country  at  large,  and  that  its 
reniody  is  to  be  expected  Irom  tiieni,  or  from  nobody-  Inform  them  of  the 
amazing  exertions  of  tlie  European  Cliristians,  in  behalf  of  tlieir  neighbour- 
hood and  tljc  world.  Inform  them  of  the  similar  exertions  of  their  breth- 
ren in  the  United  States,  in  behalf  of  all  sorts,  especially  the  Indians,  Ne- 
groes, Roman  Catholics,  and  the  back  settlements  ;  besides  the  missionaries 
to  Jerusalem  and  the  East.  Say  to  them,  let  us  go  and  do  likewise.  Now 
be  not  angry,  neither  tell  me  that  I  may  drive  my  Highlanders  so,  but  your 
congregation  is  not  to  be  so  driven;*  ibr  you  may  depend  upon  it,  that  it 
is  by  information  similar  to  the  above,  that  the  spirit  of  God  hath  kindled 
and  spread  the  flame  of  zeal  so  wonderfully  and  beautifully  throughout 
Christendom.  Let  me  tell  you  that  the  same  flame  will  spread  through 
Nova  Scotia,  and  through  Onslow  ;  but  of  Onslow  I  am  not  certain  whether 
they  will  be  content  to  rank  in  the  rear,  or  be  emulous  of  setting  the  hon- 
ourable example  before  their  neighbours.  Much  depends  upon  Mr.  Doug- 
lass;  if  lie  do  his  part,  the  people  will  do  theirs,  better  than  he  thinks.  If 
Mr.  Douglass  tiiinks  they  will  pay  his  stipend  worse  by  contributing  to 
the  spread  of  tlie  gospel  abroad,  he  is  mistaken,  for  one  duty  will  not  hin- 
der, but  further  another.  Inform  your  congregation  that  ten  or  fifteen 
ministers  are  needed  in  the  church  here  without  delay,  and  that  the  Synod 
funds  are  utterly  inadequate  to  obtain  them.  Inform  them  that  the  grow- 
ing demand  for  ministers  cannot  be  answered  from  home,  and  of  course 
that  they  must  help  to  support  an  Academy  for  raising  them  here.  In- 
form them  that  we  need  a  printing  press,  to  circulate  among  us  and  among 
our  neighbours  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  and  that  it  will  be  their  profit, 
as  well  as  their  duty,  to  contribute  their  mite  to  obtain  it.  Organize  male 
and  female  pcnny-a-week  Societies  without  delay,  if  you  have  not  done  it 
already.  Endeavour  to  make  them  emulate  one  another,  and  other  con- 
gregations with  a  holy  zeal.  Let  the  money  be  devoted  to  whatever  relig- 
ious use  tiie  majority  of  the  society  thinks  best,  but  endeavour  if  possible 
to  get  the  first  of  the  money  appropriated  for  obtaining  at  least  two  copies 
of  the  Boston  Recorder,  for  circulating  religious  knowledge  through  the 
congregation.  It  is  a  weekly  paper,  containing  tlie  religious  news  of  al- 
most all  parts  of  the  world,  and  especially  of  the  United  States;  and  will,  I 
hope,  n)ueh  increase  the  number  of  subscribers.  It  is  published  by  Na- 
tlianiel  Willis,  Rogers'  Buildings,  Congress  Street,  Boston.  It  costs  thir- 
teen shillings  and  one  penny  hall-penny,  if  paid  in  advance,  that  is,  within 

*  The  allusion  here  is  to  an  incident  that  occurred  at  a  meeting  of  Synod  at  Truro, 
lie  was,  as  on  many  occasions,  urging  the  members  to  greater  exertions  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  gospel,  and  to  stimulHte  other  portions  of  the  church,  told  what  was  doing  in 
the  congregations  in  Pictou,  when  a  member  of  the  Truro  Presbytery  with  considerable 
warmth,  exclaimed,  "But  we  cannot  drive  our  people  as  you  do  the  Pictou  Highland- 
ers." 

40* 


474  MEMOIR    OF   THE 

the  first  month,  and  three  dollars  if  paid  at  six  months,  and  I  suppose  tlie 
same  if  paid  at  tlie  year's  end. 

I  foresee  an  objection  to  these  socielies  in  the  searcity  of  money,  but 
tliis  objfction  exists  every  where,  and  so  it  netd  not  be  an  obstacle  with 
you  more  than  clsewliere.  Money,  or  produce  which  can  be  turned  into 
money,  will  be  gotten  for  tiie  most  necessary  purposes,  and   for  this,  if  it 

be  thought  a  necessary  purpose.     There  are  societies  in  and  tlie 

United  States,  wliere  some  give  sheep,  others  lambs,  plhers  pasturage,  and 
others  take  them  to  market,  &c.  Many  a  shift  will  be  contrived  by  zeal- 
ous souls.  Our  church  could  raise  five  hundred  pounds  annually  without 
being  distressed  at  the  end  of  ilic  j'ear,  more  than  if  tlicy  raised  not  one. 
Twenty  congregations  of  one  hundred  members  paying  each  a  dollar,  would 
make  five  hundred  pounds.  With  that  sum  we  might  do  much  good  : — 
get  the  printing  press,  helj)  to  support  the  academy,  and  pay  the  passage 
of  a  number  of  preachers  ;  but,  unless  we  try  we  can  do  nothing.  "  Stir 
up  the  gift  tliat  is  in  thee." 

I  am.  Rev.  Dear  Sir,  Yours, 

James  MacGregor. 


In  the  United  States  there  are  many  societies  for  giving  education  for 
the  ministry  to  poor,  pious  young  men,  who  cannot  educate  themselves, 
and  they  find  it  very  profitable  to  the  ministry.  Could  not  your  congrcga- 
tion  find  such  a  one  and  educate  him  ? 

As  the  Synod  has  committed  the  printing  press  to  me,  1  mean  by-and-by 
to  apply  to  your  societies  for  aid  to  obtain  it.  You  will  therefore  be  good 
enough  to  give  me  the  names  of  the  presidents  of  your  societies.* 


In  the  year  1824  he  was  chosen  a  second  time  Moderator  of 
Synod,  and  at  the  opening  of  its  session  in  the  following  year, 
he  preached  the  sermon  which  appears  among  his  remains,  on 
Psal.  cxxii.  6.  "  They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee."  This  is 
the  only  sermon  of  his  that  we  have  fully  written  out.  Those 
who  recollect  his  preaching,  will  at  once  recognize  it,  as  ex- 
hibiting his  style  and  mode  of  thought.     It  is  a  sermon  which 


*  As  formerly  mentioned,  among  the  objects  proposed  after  the  formation  of  the  Synod 
■was  the  obtaining  a  printing  press  for  the  circulation  of  religious  intelligence.  The 
■work  of  collecting  money  for  the  object  was  entrusted  to  Doctor  MacOreuor.  lie  en- 
tered cordially  into  the  measure,  but  did  not  receive  a  liberal  response.  A  small  press 
was  shortly  after  presented  to  the  Synod  by  a  lady  in  Britain,  and  the  scheme  was  abaii- 
dnni'd.  This  press  was  used  for  a  time  in  printing  Synod  documents,  and  ■was  sent  cut 
to  the  New  Hebrides  with  Uev.  Mr.  Geddie,  the  first  missionary  to  that  quarter,  .ind  is 
now  employed  by  the  mission,  on  the  Island  of  Erromanga. 


BEV.   JAMES   MACQREGOR,    D.D.  475 

in  fact  pictures  himself.  It  would  be  scarcely  possible  to  point 
out  any  where  a  sermon  in  which  the  author's  own  character 
was  more  clearly  delineated.  Love  to  Zion  was  his  great  char- 
acteristic, and  he  enjoyed  through  life  a  large  measure  both  of 
spiritual  prosperity,  and  we  may  even  say  of  temporal.  Yet  in 
another  point  of  view,  partly  from  the  occasion  and  the  subject, 
the  sermon  is  not  considered  as  a  fair  specimen  of  his  usual 
style  of  preaching,  particularly  in  lacking  the  fervent  appeals 
both  to  saints  and  sinners,  which  were  so  frequent  on  ordinary 
occasions. 

In  the  year  1824  he  was  also  permitted  to  have  the  expecta- 
tion expressed  in  his  letter  to  Doctor  Keir  realized  of  having 
another  minister  on  the  East  River.  The  Upper  Settlement, 
including  the  East  and  West  Branches,  was  disjoined  with  his 
full  concurrence,  and  the  Eev.  Angus  MacGillivray  ordained 
as  the  first  minister  there.  The  two  churches  in  that  quarter 
had  been  built  previous  to  the  division,  and  when  that  took 
place,  the  claim  of  the  adherents  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  to 
the  use  of  them  half  the  time  had  been  conceded  for  the  sake 
of  peace.  When  the  ordination  of  Mr.  MacGillivray  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  place  in  one  of  them,  some  of  the  Highlanders, 
in  their  ignorance,  imagined  that  this  implied  some  mysterious 
union  between  him  and  the  building,  which  would  endanger  the 
rights  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  They  therefore  employed 
a  lawyer  to  interpose  to  prevent  such  a  result.  The  latter  was 
foolish  enough  to  write  a  letter  to  Doctor  MacGregor  on  their 
behalf,  with  a  view  to  arrest  the  proceedings  of  the  Presbytery. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  branch  of  the  Secession,  to  which  he 
belonged,  took  very  high  ground  against  all  interference  of  the 
civil  power  with  the  church.  His  old  Antiburgher  feeling  seems 
to  have  been  roused  by  the  attorney's  conduct,  which  he  regarded 
as  both  uncalled  for  and  absurd,  and  it  would  appear  as  if  he 
had  determined  to  follow  Solomon's  advice,  (Prov.  xxvi.  5,)  and 
give  him  such  an  answer  as  his  impertinence  deserved.  On 
the  evening  previous  to  the  ordination,  the  brethren  were  as- 


476  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

sembled  at  his  bouse,  -when  he  mentioned  that  he  had  received 
such  a  letter.  "  And  I  suppose/'  said  Doctor  MacCuUoch, 
"  that  you  sent  him  one  of  your  soft,  slippery  answers."  "  If 
you  choose  I  will  read  to  you  what  I  have  written,"  was  his 
reply.  "Let  us  hear  it  then."  He  accordingly  read  a  copy 
of  his  reply  something  to  the  following  effect,  "  Sir,  I  have  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  you,  but  it  is  so  badly  written  that  I  am 
unable  to  read  it.  But  what  I  have  been  able  to  decipher 
contains  so  little  sense,  that  I  would  decidedly  advise  you,  for 
the  future,  to  mind  your  own  business  and  leave  the  affairs 
of  the  church  alone."  — "  That's  enough,"  said  Doctor  Mac- 
CuUoch. 

Nothing  more  was  heard  of  legal  proceedings,  but  during  the 
ordination  services  one  man  stood  up  and  proclaimed  aloud,  "  I 
protest  in  the  name  of  the  Church  o^  Scotland  against  your 
marrying  that  man  to  this  church."  Doctor  MacGregor  said 
mildly,  "  Oh,  we  do  not  marry  him  to  the  walls  of  the 
church,  it  is  to  the  people."  The  man  called  upon  his  friends 
to  follow  him,  and  left  the  church  followed  by  two  or  three 
others. 

This  settlement  gave  him  great  pleasure,  not  only  as  reliev- 
ing him  of  a  portion  of  his  labours,  but  also  on  account  of  the 
people  in  that  quarter,  whose  numbers  had  so  increased,  that 
they  required  a  separate  minister.  On  parting  with  them  ho 
preached  a  tender  and  affectionate  farewell  discourse.  lie 
reviewed  his  labours  among  them,  and  contrasted  the  results 
upon  them  in  this  world  and  the  next.  Some  who  had  sat 
under  his  ministry  had  profited  by  it,  and  he  had  no  doubt 
were  now  in  glory;  while  others,  pursuing  a  different  course, 
he  had  as  little  doubt  were  now  in  the  place  of  misery.  Tn 
this  solemn  manner  he  pressed  upon  them  attention  to  the 
gospel  of  God's  Son,  as  hereafter  to  be  proclaimed  to  them 
by  another.  He  also  gave  them  a  number  of  advices  as  to 
their  duty  toward  their  new  minister,  and  urged  them  to  libe- 
rality  in   his  support,   and   for   the   extension   of  the  gospel, 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D,  477 

calling  upon  them  to  mark  the  fact,  tliat  wliile  those,  who 
had  been  zealous  in  the  support  of  the  church  were  now 
the  most  thriving  in  their  worklly  circumstances,  those 
who  had  from  the  first  disregarded  this  duty  were  now  worth, 
notliiug. 


478  MEMOIR   OP   THE 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

CLOSE    OF   LIFE — 1825-1830. 

"  I  am  DOW  ready  to  be  offered,  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  nt  hand.  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  ; 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day  ;  and  not  to  me  only, 
but  unto  all  them  that  love  his  appearing."     2  Tim.  iv.  6 — 8. 

Our  narrative  now  draws  to  a  close.  But  a  few  incidents 
remain  to  be  noted.  From  the  date  of  Mr.  MacGillivray's  ordina- 
tion, there  was  but  the  one  church  in  which  he  statedly 
preached,  and  he  was  thus  in  his  old  age  relieved  of  the  toil- 
some labours  of  his  former  years.  This  church,  we  may  re- 
mark, had  been  built  in  the  year  1803,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river ;  and  stood  till  recently,  as  many  of  our  readers  will  re- 
member, just  opposite  the  Albion  Mines. 

We  have  not  felt  it  necessary  to  refer  particularly  to  his  dis- 
charge of  pastoral  duty,  since  the  first  years  of  his  ministry, 
because  the  description  given  of  his  labours  then,  will  apply  to 
subsequent  periods,  with  the  exception  of  such  changes  as  the 
progress  of  the  country  and  the  improvement  among  the  peo- 
ple induced.  The  congregation,  as  we  have  seen,  was  gradually 
contracted  within  narrower  limits,  so  that  he  did  not  need  to 
spend  his  nights  from  home.  Roads  had  been  formed,  so  that 
travelling  was  now  comparatively  easy,  till  at  length  about  the 
year  1822,  some  of  the  leading  men  in  his  congregation  com- 
bined to  make  him  a  present  of  a  gig,  which  was  the  second  on 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  479 

the  East  River,  and  which  served  him  during  the  remainder 
of  his  days.  The  people,  with  the  exception  of  the  new  set- 
tlers, had  now  generally  become  comparatively  comfortable  in 
their  worldly  circumstances,  so  that  he  was  not  now  subjected, 
either  at  home  or  when  among  them,  to  the  privations  of  his 
early  years.  They  had  also  made  considerable  advance  in  reli- 
gious knowledge,  and  were  regular  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  Christianity.  So  that  his  work  was  not  to  lay  the 
foundation  by  instructing  them  in  the  first  principles  of  the 
oracles  of  God,  nor  to  form  their  religious  habits  ;  it  was  rather 
to  build  them  up  and  establish  them  in  the  faith  which  they 
had  embraced. 

We  may  remark,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  great  out- 
break in  his  congregation  by  the  arrival  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Kirk,  his  congregational  affairs  in  general  moved  on  with  a 
calm  and  uniform  course.  There  were  such  small  difficulties 
as  will  occur  in  every  Christian  society.  His  people  were 
nearly  all  Highlanders,  whose  tempers  are  at  least  peculiar. 
But  being  a  thorough  Highlander  himself,  he  knew  exactly 
how  to  manage  them,  and  his  influence  among  them  was  un- 
bounded. Ofi'ences  did  come,  but  seldom  had  they  any  refer- 
ence to  himself.  But  his  tact  and  conciliatory  manner  were 
generally  successful  in  removing  them  without  much  difficulty. 

He  had  now  come  to  old  age,  and  though  the  hardships  of 
his  early  years  had  impaired  the  vigour  of  his  constitution,  yet 
he  was  still  able' for  the  efficient  discharge  of  all  his  pastoral 
duties.  He  did  not,  however,  travel  to  great  distances  from 
home;  his  last  journey  of  any  length  of  which  we  have  any  ac- 
count, was  to  Musquodoboit  in  the  year  1823,  as  one  of  a  com- 
mission of  Synod,  to  decide  some  mattess  in  dispute  between 
the  congregation  there  and  their  minister.  He  still,  however, 
visited  neighbouring  congregations,  assisting  at  sacraments,  or 
appealing  to  their  liberality  in  support  of  the  measures  of  the 
church.  On  behalf  of  all  forms  of  Christian  effort,  his  zeal 
was  as  ardent  as  ever,  and  his  activity  scarcely  diminished. 
His  preaching  had  lost  but  little  of  the  animation  of  his  early 


480  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

years,  but  tin's  was  more  than  compensated  by  the  deeper  ten- 
derness of  his  tones,  and  by  the  venerable  appearance  which 
age  had  lent  to  his  form,  while  all  that  he  said  produced  a 
deeper  irapresssion  from  the  universal  esteem,  which  his  char- 
acter and  labours  had  excited.  In  his  general  bearing  the 
ardour  of  youth  had  been  mellowed  by  years  into  a  heavenly 
meekness  and  calmness  of  spirit.  Still  his  soul  fired  against 
any  dishonour  done  to  his  Master,  and  he  reproved  sin  in  all 
classes  as  boldly  as  ever.  About  this  time  a  gentleman  from 
Britain,  having,  in  company  with  a  relative  of  his  own,  built  a 
vessel  a  little  below  where  now  stands  the  village  of  New  Glas- 
gow, launched  her  on  the  Sabbath.  He  was  much  hurt,  and 
not  only  did  he  write  a  faithful  letter  to  each  of  them,  but  the 
first  time  they  went  to  church  they  heard  their  sin  set  before 
them  in  a  sermon  on  the  words,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy." 

We  can  scarcely  exaggerate  the  respect  with  which  he  was 
now  commonly  regarded.  Few  men  had  the  art  of  gaining 
affection  as  he  had.  Among  the  inhabitants  of  Pictou  gene- 
rally, with  the  exception  of  the  new  settlers,  who  formed  the. 
Kirk  party,  his  influence  was  unbounded.  That  Doctor  IMac- 
Gregor  said  so,  was  sufficient  to  settle  all  disputes.  Perhaps 
this  was  more  marked  from  the  large  proportion  of  the  people 
being  Highlanders,  or  their  descendants,  a  people  who  seem 
peculiarly  inclined  to  strong  attachments  of  this  kind.  "We 
just  thought,"  said  one  man  to  the  writer,  "  that  he  could  raise 
the  dead."  And  now  that  he  had  a  hoary  head  which  was 
truly  a  crown  of  glory,  he  was  universally  regarded  as  "  such 
an  one  as  Paul  the  aged."  Not  only  through  Pictou,  but 
through  a  large  portion  of  this  and  the  neighbouring  colonies, 
he  was  regarded  with  the  most  loving  veneration,  such  as  we 
might  suppose  the  apostle  John  received  in  his  old  age  from 
the  churches  of  Asia.  By  his  brethren  in  the  ministry  he  was 
looked  up  to  as  a  father,  and  by  the  church  at  large,  almost  as 
its  founder.  Vi-sitors  to  the  county  felt  it  their  privilege  to  see 
and  converse  with   him   as  a   notability,  and  we   have  met  with 


REV.    JAMES   MACOREQOR,   D.D.  481 

persons  even  in  the  United  States,  who  from  such  interviews 
had  carried  away  ineffaceable  impressions  of  the  loveliness  of 
his  christian  character.  Yet  all  the  honour  and  respect  shown 
him,  never  seemed  to  kindle  a  single  emotion  of  vain  glory  in 
his  bosom,  or  to  produce  any  other  spirit  than  that  of  him, 
who  while  proclaiming  himself  as  having  laboured  more  abun- 
dantly than  all  his  brethren,  yet  regarded  himself  "as  less  than 
the  least  of  all  saints." 

His  own  feelings  at  this  time  were  such  as  any  man  might 
envy.  The  affection  and  esteem  with  which  he  was  greeted  on 
all  hands  would  have  been  gratifying  to  any  mind ;  but  espe- 
cially pleasing  was  it  to  him,  to  look  back  upon  the  changes 
which  had  taken  place  in  his  sphere  of  labour,  and  to  behold 
what  God  had  accomplished  by  his  instrumentality.  How  dif- 
ferent was  now  the  physical  state  of  the  country  ! — smiling 
farms  and  villages  had  taken  the  place  of  the  primeval  forest. 
But  especially  might  he  be  delighted  to  see  the  moral  wilder- 
ness rejoicing  and  blossoming  as  the  rose.  Where  he  had  been 
a  solitary  labourer,  ministering  to  a  few  lonely  dwellers  in  the 
wood,  he  now  saw  a  community  marked  by  intelligence,  virtue, 
and  religion ;  and  far  beyond,  where  he  had  planted  with  much 
toil  and  watered  with  many  tears,  he  saw  flourishing  Christian 
societies.  He  saw  a  Synod  formed,  and  a  church  united  in 
measures  for  the  promotion  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Redeemer, 
and  he  saw  the  assurance  of  her  permanence  in  an  institution 
fur  the  training  of  her  future  ministry.  Often  did  he  speak 
with  the  liveliest  gratitude  of  what  his  eyes  had  seen. 
-  Still  he  had  to  suffer  what  every  aged  person  must  endure, 
the  pain  of  separation  from  those  who  have  been  the  compan- 
ions of  his  prime.  From  time  to  time,  one  after  another  of 
those  who  had  shared  his  early  trials,  and  had  been  his  comfort 
and  support  in  the  days  of  trial,  preceded  him  to  the  presence 
of  his  Master.  In  a  New  Year's  address,  about  this  time,  he 
speaks  of  their  having  lost  during  the  previous  year  two  of 
their  elders,  and  "best  friends  of  the  church  ever  since  the 
gospel  came  to  Pictou."  About  the  year  1827,  Robert  Mar- 
41 


482  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

shall  was  called  awny,  and  about  the  same  time  Donald  MacKay 
finished  his  course.  On  the  Sabbath  after  the  latter  was  bu- 
ried, the  Doctor  in  commencing  his  discourse  alluded  to  the 
event,  and  said  that  he  might  say,  as  David, ''  Know  ye  not  that  a 
prince  and  a  great  man  is  fallen  in  Israel." 

After  referring  to  his  character,  he  particularly  adverted  to 
his  services  to  himself,  and  said,  that,  but  for  him,  he  believed 
that  he  would  have  stumbled  or  given  up  altogether. 

Still,  in  such  cases  the  pain  of  separation  was  alleviated  by 
the  prospect  of  an  early  reunion ;  and  he  loved  to  think  and 
speak  of  them  as  in  heaven,  and  of  the  near  prospect  of  being 
with  them.  Travelling  once  in  company  with  David  Fraser, 
student,  they  came  to  a  point  where  their  roads  diverged.  As 
they  were  about  to  separate,  he  asked  the  latter  how  far  he  in- 
tended to  go  that  night  ?  "  To  Robert  Marshall's,"  was  the 
reply,  the  place  being  still  known  by  his  name,  though  he  was 
dead.  The  Doctor  paused  for  a  moment,  as  if  in  thought,  and 
then  repeated  his  question.  "  To  Robert  Marshall's,"  was 
again  the  reply.  "  If  you  are  going  to  Robert  Marshall's,  you 
must  go  to  heaven,  and  I  am  going  no  farther !" 

A  reference  to  two  more  subjects  will  complete  our  notice 
of  his  public  life.  The  first  of  these  to  which  we  mean  to  di- 
rect attention,  is  the  unfavourable  position  which  dissenters  and 
dissenting  ministers  then  occupied,  both  in  this  and  the  neigh- 
bouring Provinces.  We  are  led  to  advert  to  this  point  hero, 
by  a  circumstance,  which,  for  the  sake  of  the  party  concerned, 
we  would  have  been  disposed  to  pass  over,  but  which  we  shall 
advert  to,  as  illustrating  this  feature  of  his  times.  At  presentj 
happily  all  denominations  of  Christians  in  these  Colonies,  are 
upon  a  level  as  to  civil  rights.  It  was  not  so,  however,  in 
Doctor  MacGregor's  days.  The  Church  of  England  was  not 
only  recognized  as  the  Established  Church,  but  it  possessed  the 
ear  of  Government,  and  was  enabled  to  thwart  the  efforts  of 
dissenters  to  obtain  the  same  privileges  as  others.  The  eff'ect 
of  this  we  have  seen  in  the  old  Pictou  Academy  struggles. 
Dissenters  were  thus  for  a  long  time  the  objects  of  suspicion  on 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  483 

the  part  of  the  higher  authorities,  and  their  ministers  were  un- 
der disabilities,  particularly  as  to  the  celebration  of  marriage.  In 
a  memorial  to  the  United  Secession  Churcli,  from  a  Committee 
of  Synod,  of  which  Doctor  MacGregor  was  one,  it  was  said  : 

"Sustaining' tlic  cliaractcr  of  Sccedcrs,  except  in  the  establishment  of 
the  Seminary  in  Pictou,  we  have  been  thwarted  in  every  application  to 
Government,  wliich  lias  had  for  its  object  cither  a  removal  of  grievances 
or  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  our  cliurch.  Some  years  ago  we 
who  reside  in  Nova  Scotia,  applied  to  our  Colonial  Legislature  to  be  re- 
lieved from  certain  restraints  with  respect  to  the  celebration  of  marriage. 
An  act  in  our  favour  was  accordingly  passed,  but  when  it  was  transmitted 
to  Britain,  for  His  IMajcsty's  approbation,  there  went  with  it  a  representa- 
tion from  the  Established  Church,  that  we  were  Scceders,  and  the  Royal 
assent  was  withheld.  *  *  Wc  may  also  add  tliat  the  same  cause  which 
prevented  our  success  with  His  Majesty's  ministers  operates  powerfully 
against  us,  in  the  minds  of  our  Provincial  authorities.  The  enemies  of 
Presbyterians  possess  their  ear;  and  we  have  neither  opportunities,  nor 
that  respectability  of  position,  which  might  enable  us  to  counteract  the  in- 
fluence of  misrepresentation  and  prejudice  in  those  circles,  where  we  are 
known  only  by  report." 

All  the  early  ministers  found  themselves  under  the  necessity, 
for  the  sake  of  avoiding  greater  evils,  of  solemnizing  marriage  ; 
and  they  generally  did  it  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  ia 
Scotland,  though  it  was  not  strictly  legal  here.  The  practice 
was  generally  permitted,  but  some  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
ministers,  who  had  arrived  in  the  Colonies,  though  in  reality 
dissenters  here  themselves,  began  to  assume  airs  of  superiority ; 
and,  instead  of  combining  to  obtain  for  their  fellow-Presbyte- 
rians the  same  privileges  as  others,  endeavoured  to  rivet  upon 
them  the  disabilities  under  which  they  were  lying.  One  of 
them  in  New  Brunswick  accordingly  wrote  to  Doctor  MacGregor 
the  following  letter  : 

,  N.  B.,  February  21s<,  1825. 

Dear  Sir  : — At  the  request  of  Mr.  John  MacArthur,  farmer,  parish  of 
Sussex,  Kings  County,  in  this  Province,  I  now  address  you : — I  baptized 
llirce  children  for  him  lately,  and  found  upon  inquiring  that  he  had  been 
married  by  you  about  twenty  years  ago.  It  immediately  occurred  to  me, 
that,  according  to  the  Marriage  Act  of  this  Province,  he  was  not  legally 
married,  inasmuch  as  the  act  above  referred  to  limits  the  power  of  celebra- 


484  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

ting  marriage  to  the  Established  Clergy  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
Justices  of  the  Quorum,  but  docs  not  jircvcnt  such  cclcbralioii  by  minis- 
ters of  tiie  Ciuirch  of  Scotland,  reguhirUj  ordained  according  to  the  rites 
thereof.  Any  other  person  celebrating  or  assisting  in  the  celebration  of 
marriage  is  declared  liable  to  prosecution,  and  must  forfeit  to  his  Majesty 
a  sum  not  exceeding  one  hundred  pounds,  nor  Itss  than  fifty,  and  must  be 
imprisoned  for  twelve  montiis.  jMr.  M.  and  his  friends  have  long  been 
uneasy  on  the  subject,  and  as  I  was  anxious  to  know  if  tlicre  was  any 
clause  in  the  act  that  could  relieve  them,  1  cunsulted  with  a  professional 
gentleman  on  my  return  to  town,  and  found  unfortunately  that  his  opinion 
was  that  the  marriage  was  illegal, — that  you  were  liable  to  the  penalty, — 
and  that  there  was  no  remedy  for  Mr.  M.,  but  by  having  the  ceremony 
again  performed  by  an  authorized  pers.on.  Meantime  he  has  requested 
me  to  ask  you  to  send  a  certificate  of  his  marriage- 
I  am,  Dear  Sir, 

Yours,  sincerely. 


We  will  not  stay  to  characterize  this  letter  as  we  think  it 
deserves.  But  let  our  readers  mark  the  statements  of  the  let- 
ter, that  the  marriage  was  null,  and  the  party  solemnizing  it  lia- 
ble to  fine  and  imprisonment;  and  compare  with  this  the  re- 
quest to  Doctor  MacGregor  to  send  a  certificate  that  he  had  so 
solemnized  this  marriage,  and  they  may  form  their  own  conclu- 
sion. On  the  back  of  the  letter  is  the  following  by  Mr.  Mac- 
Kinlay : 

Dear  Father  : — I  think has  little  to  do.     He  is  anxious  to 

promote  a  party.     Religion  does  not  seem  to  be  his  object.     1  would  send 
no  certifier; te.     This  is  only  a  snare  for  you,  although  there  is  not  a  particle 
of  danger.     You  had  better  not  be  in  a  hurry  in  sending  him  an  answer. 
When  Doctor  MacCulloch  returns  we  will  consult  about  it. 
Dear  Father, — Yours,  &c., 

John  MacKinlat. 

What  further  correspondence  took  place  we  know  not,  but, 
notwithstanding  this  writer's  zeal  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
law,  the  Province  of  New  Brunswick  was  saved  the  shame  of 
fining  and  imprisoning  for  twelve  months,  a  minister  of  Christ 
for  lending  the  sanctions  of  religion  to  the  marriage  contract. 

The  other  subject  connected  with  his  public  labours,  to 
which  we  mean  to  advert,  is  the  operations  of  "  the  Glasgow 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREQOR,   D.D.  485 

Society  (in  connection  ■with  the  Established  Church  of  Scot- 
land) for  promoting  the  religious  interests  of  the  Scottish  set- 
tlers in  British  North  America."  Of  this  Society  Doctor  Ro- 
bert Burns,  then  of  Paisley,  now  of  Toronto,  was  Secretary 
and  the  chief  moving  power.  We  at  once  admit  that  the  ob- 
ject of  the  Society  was  good,  that  there  was  much  need  of 
such  efforts  for  the  supply  of  the  spiritual  destitution  of  the 
Colonies,  and  we  are  not  in  the  least  disposed  to  impugn  the 
motives  of  its  founders  and  supporters.  Nor  are  we  disposed 
to  deny  that  it  was  the  means  of  doing  much  good  in  other 
colonies,  and  in  supplying  the  destitute  portions  of  this  colony, 
particularly  Cape  Breton  ;  though  under  wiser  management,  the 
good  accomplished  might  have  been  greater.  But  still  we 
must  say,  that  as  far  as  the  sphere  of  operations  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Nova  Scotia  was  concerned,  the  whole  system 
pursued  by  this  Society  was  unjust.  Its  leading  principle  was 
to  supply  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  the  colonies, 
and  to  build  up  an  interest  in  connection  with  that  body.  But 
when  a  Presbyterian  body  was  already  organized  here  on  the 
broad  basis  of  our  common  Presbyterianism,  which  was  putting 
forth  most  praiseworthy  efforts  to  overtake  the  destitution 
around,  and  to  train  a  ministry  for  the  next  generation,  and 
which  would  welcome  sound  Presbyterian  ministers  from  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  as  readily  as  from  other  Presbyterian 
bodies,  to  enter  upon  the  same  sphere,  merely  to  build  up  their 
own  sectarian  peculiarity  was  schism  in  the  sight  of  God,  and 
could  only  be  expected  to  prove  disastrous  to  the  cause  of  Pres- 
byterianism, and  dishonouring  to  the  religion  of  Christ. 

But  the  mode  in  which  its  operations  were  carried  on  rendered 
matters  much  worse.  It  must  be  granted  that  there  was  a  ne- 
cessity of  extending  pecuniary  aid  to  the  poorer  settlers.  But 
this  aid  was  often  granted  in  such  a  way  as  to  prove  an  encour- 
agement to  the  latter  to  slackness  in  their  own  efforts.  As 
Doctor  iMacG-regor  remarks,  "  To  make  a  poor  enough  mouth 
was  all  that  was  thought  requisite  to  ensure  the  Society's 
bounty.  It  is  a  fact,  that  at  least  one  settlement  agreed  to 
41* 


486  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

subscribe  one  hnlf  only  nf  wbat  tbey  believed  themselves  able 
to  pay,  lest  otherwise  tlioy  should  not  be  thought  poor  enough." 
The  tender  of  £50  per  annum,  and  a  minister  from  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  was  freely  made  all  round,  even  to  settlements 
■which  had  been  receiving  supply  from  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Nova  Scotia,  and  in  such  a  way  as  held  out  a  bonus  to  separa- 
tion. Some  congregations  of  that  body,  when  they  came  va- 
cant, feeling  their  weakness  for  the  support  of  a  minister, 
yielded  to  the  enticement,  and  others  were  divided. 

But  this  was  not  the  worst.  We  have  already  described  the 
commencement  of  division  among  Presbyterians  in  Pictou. 
The  men  who  had  caused  it,  were  taken  by  the  hand  by  the 
Society;  and  were  aided  in  all  their  schemes,  particularly  in 
their  efforts  to  destroy  the  Pictou  Academy,  on  account  of  its 
furnishing  ministers  to  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Doctor 
Burns  himself  joined  in  sneering  at  native  preachers,  and  per- 
sisted in  sending  out  men,  whom  he  has  since  described  in  the 
very  lowest  terms. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  Committee  of  Missions  of  our 
Church,  of  which  Doctor  MacGregor  was  a  member,  transmitted 
to  the  Directors  of  the  Society,  by  the  hands  of  Doctor  Mac- 
Culloch,  a  memorial  on  the  subject  of  the  course  which  they 
were  pursuing.  Believing  the  supporters  of  the  Society  to  be 
acting  with  the  most  upright  intentions,  but  at  the  same  time 
under  misapprehension  of  the  state  of  matters  here,  the  Com- 
mittee set  before  them  a  large  amount  of  information  regarding 
the  condition  of  the  Colonies,  pointed  out  defects  in  the  plans 
of  the  Society,  represented  the  evils  of  the  system  they  had 
adopted,  and  affectionately  urged  a  different  course.  This  me- 
morial was  disregarded,  if  not  treated  with  contempt,  and  a 
sharp  controversy  ensued  between  Doctor  MacCulloch  and  Doc- 
tor Burns.  Doctor  MacGregor  also  wrote  the  letter  which 
appears  among  his  remains.  It  describes,  in  the  mildest  spirit, 
the  evils  which  must  ensue  from  the  system  pursued  by  the  So- 
ciety, and  affectionately  pleads  for  union  among  Presbyterians. 

Doubtless  the  chief  blame  of  these  evils  rests  with  the  So- 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  487 

ciety's  agents  and  corrospondcnts  in  this  country.  They  sent 
home  the  most  cxag£;(!nited  accounts  of  the  destitution  in  this 
Province — and  poisoned  the  minds  of  the  Directors  of  the  So- 
ciety against  the  church  here,  and  particuhirly  against  the  Pic- 
tou  Academy  and  the  ministers  trained  in  it ;  in  fact,  wrote 
home  what  Doctor  Burns  has  since  described  in  his  own  expres- 
sive way,  as  "  great  lies."  But  the  Society  was  not  guiltless. 
They  would  give  no  heed  to  information  furnished  by  other 
parties  in  circumstances  to  know  the  truth,  they  trusted  their 
correspondents,  even  after  their  gross  misrepresentations  had 
been  exposed,  and  they  plainly  showed,  that  in  the  spirit  of 
High  Church  exclusiveness,  they  disdained  all  co-operation 
with  those  whom  they  despised  as  Dissenters. 

For  a  time  the  efforts  of  the  Society  were  successful,  so  that 
in  1833  a  Synod  was  formed  in  connection  with  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  But  the  end  showed  that  the  basis  of  the  system 
was  unsound.  In  1843  came  the  disruption  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  when  the  prophecy  of  Doctor  MacCulloch,  regarding 
the  ministers  sent  out  by  that  Society,  that  "  a  presentation 
would  show  them  to  be  but  wayfaring  men,"  was  abundantly 
fulfilled.  A  large  proportion  of  them  returned  to  Scotland,  to 
occupy  the  vacant  watch-towers  there.  In  the  meantime  their 
efforts  had  been  successful  in  destroying  the  Institution,  which, 
if  it  had  been  properly  sustained,  would  have  afforded  a  supply 
of  faithful  preachers.  Presbyterianism  was  thus  left  with 
ranks  broken,  with  much  ground  lost,  and  with  an  ill  savour 
from  the  divisions  among  its  adherents.  Both  bodies  found 
themselves  in  1844  in  the  position  that  the  oldest  was  in  1816, 
of  having  to  begin  to  found  an  Institution  for  the  training  of  a 
native  ministry,  and  as  to  union,  we  are  not  in  this  year  1859 
in  the  same  position  in  which  our  fathers  were  in  1817. 

We  may  here  record  some  experiments,  which  he  made  about 
this  time,  which  will  show  his  active  and  inquisitive  turn  of 
mind.  His  farm,  it  had  been  discovered  ere  this,  was  situated 
over  a  bed  of  coal.  In  a  small  pool  of  water,  not  far  distant 
from  his  house,  there  was  observed  a  bubbling  up  of  gas.     The 


488  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

Doctor  began  to  make  experiments  on  it.  lie  first  took  a  tub, 
or  half  ;i  puncheon,  and  inverted  it  in  the  water.  In  this  he  had 
a  hole  bored  and  a  pipe  stem  inserted.  In  the  end  of  the  pipe 
stem  he  put  a  pin,  until  the  tub  became  so  full  of  gas,  as  to  be 
nearly  raised  out  of  the  water.  He  then  drew  out  the  pin  and 
lit  the  gas,  when  it  burned  beautifully  and  brilliantly  for  a 
time.  This  he  did  on  several  occasions  for  the  amusement  of 
himself  and  others.  Near  this,  and  only  a  few  rods  from  his 
own  house,  there  was  a  small  stream  of  water,  where  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  gas  was  more  abundant.  The  boys  used  to  fill 
a  puncheon,  and  when  lit,  as  in  the  last  case,  it  would  burn  for 
a  length  of  time.  It  afi"orded  them  a  fine  amusement,  when 
the  puncheon  was  full  to  turn  it  over,  and  throw  into  it  a 
lighted  paper.  It  produced  a  high  and  brilliant  blaze,  which 
could  be  seen  for  a  considerable  distance  around.  He  then 
conceived  the  idea  of  introducing  it  into  his  house.  He  got 
wooden  pipes  made,  but  those  whom  he  employed  to  make 
them,  had  no  way  of  boring  them  out  of  a  solid  piece,  and  the 
only  plan  they  could  adopt,  was  to  dig  out  channels  in  two  flat 
pieces  and  join  them  together.  But  in  this  way  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  make  them  tight.  He  managed,  however,  by  means 
of  them  to  get  the  gas  into  his  house,  and  it  would  burn  in  the 
cellar,  or  at  the  door  step,  but  he  never  succeeded  in  getting  it 
to  burn  in  any  of  the  rooms.  He  then  imported  gas  fittings 
and  leaden  pipes,  but  the  quantity  of  the  latter  sent  was  quite 
insufficient,  and  before  he  got  another  supply,  circumstances 
occurred  to  interrupt  his  plans,  and  they  were  never  resumed. 

An  event  must  now  be  mentioned  which  caused  an  impor- 
tant change  in  his  worldly  circumstances,  viz.,  the  commence- 
ment of  the  operations  of  the  General  Mining  Association. 
In  the  year  1826,  that  company  obtained  a  lease  of  the  mines 
and  minerals  of  the  Province,  and  in  the  following  year  sent 
out  their  first  agent,  Mr.  Richard  Smith,  to  open  their  works 
at  the  East  River.  The  spot  chosen  for  their  first  operations 
was  close  by  the  residence  of  Doctor  MacGregor,  and  Mr.  S. 
boarded  in  his  house  for  some  time,  as  the  only  suitable  one 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  489 

near.  The  Doctor  took  a  deep  interest  in  what  he  was  doing, 
and  delighted  to  converse  with  him  as  to  liis  projects,  and  their 
results  upon  the  future  progress  of  the  country.  On  his  first 
arrival  in  the  Province,  lie  seemed  to  have  regarded  his  field  of 
labour  as  unimportant,  and  likely  to  yield  but  little  fruit;  but 
after  he  had  been  a  few  years  here,  and  saw  the  progress  which 
the  country  was  making,  he  formed  a  more  enlarged  conception 
of  Its  capabilities,  and  future  destinies,  and  this  naturally  led  to 
higher  views  of  the  importance  of  the  special  work  assigned 
him  in  the  Providence  of  God.  He  Telt  himself  labouring  for 
posterity — as  sowing  seed  which  would  bear  fruit  to  many  gene- 
rations— as  laying  the  foundations  of  a  structure  which  was  to 
grow  wider  and  higher  through  all  time.  Having  long  before 
learned  to  expect  great  thinjrs  as  to  the  future  of  this  country, 
he  was  now  deeply  interested  in  the  prospect,  now  opening,  of 
its  more  rapid  progress,  by  the  development  of  resources,  hither- 
to lying  dormant  and  almost  unknown. 

But  another  change  became  requisite.  His  farm  became 
necessary  for  the  operations  of  the  Association,  and  a  few  months 
after,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Smith,  he  agreed  to  sell  it  for 
the  sum  of  £1150  (S4600).  He  was,  however,  to  occupy  the 
house  till  he  had  time  to  build  another.  He  sold  off  all  his 
farm  stock,  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  cows,  and  bought 
a  small  piece  of  ground  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and 
near  the  church,  on  which  he  built  a  cottage,  in  which  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  days.  We  cannot  but  remark  the  kind- 
ness of  Providence  in  supplying  his  temporal  necessities.  He 
had  through  life  manifested  the  utmost  self-denial ;  he  had 
never  grasped  at  stipend,  he  had  cheerfully  borne  losses,  and 
had  liberally  given  in  charity  and  for  the  promotion  of  the 
cause  of  God.  Yet  he  had  always  been  abundantly  provided 
for,  and  now  by  a  remarkable  providential  dispensation,  depend- 
ing on  the  simple  fact  of  his  just  obtaining  his  farm  on  that 
spot,  he  was  in  his  old  age  put  in  possession  of  a  sum  larger 
than  he  had  ever  expected  to  possess — sufficient  not  only  for 
the  comfort  of  his  own  declining  years,  but  also  to  provide  for 


490  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

the  last  (lays  of  his  widow,  to  educate  the  younger  children 
who  at  his  death  were  unable  to  provide  for  themselves,  and  to 
bring  them  forth  to  fill  stations  of  respectability  and  usefulness 
in  society. 

We  must,  however,  now  come  to  the  closing  scene.  Doctor 
MacGregor  enjoyed  uninterrupted  health  till  the  year  1S24, 
when  symptoms  of  cancer  appeared  in  his  lower  lip,  render- 
ing a  surgical  operation  necessary.  The  wound  was  soon 
healed  and  the  cure  proved  effectual.  He  retained  his  usual 
soundness  of  constitution  till  the  13th  of  February,  1828,  when 
he  was  suddenly  prostrated  by  a  severe  stroke  of  paralysis.  He 
had  been  holding  a  diet  of  examination  at  MacLellan's  Brook. 
The  day  had  been  very  cold  and  he  had  walked  home.  Whether 
the  exertion  had  affected  him  or  not  is  uncertain,  but  in  the 
evening  he  remarked  that  he  felt  a  strange  sensation  in  his 
head,  and  went  to  a  basin  to  bathe  it  in  cold  water.  Soon  af- 
ter he  was  completely  paralyzed.  For  several  days  he  was 
unable  to  speak,  and  gave  no  indication  of  consciousness,  ex- 
cept by  the  moans  which  he  uttered,  under  the  extremely  active 
treatment,  to  which  his  medical  attendant  felt  it  necessary  to 
resort.  For  some  weeks  he  was  entirely  laid  aside  from  public 
duty,  and  it  may  be  remarked  that  till  this  time  he  had  only 
been  prevented  from  preaching  on  two  Sabbaths,  one  of  these 
being  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  wife's  death.  His  mind  was 
also  for  a  time  greatly  enfeebled, — his  memory  being  especially 
afiected.  By  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  means  employed, 
however,  his  health  was  soon  in  a  great  measure  restored,  but 
his  whole  right  side  was  ever  after  partially  paralyzed.  There 
was  always  a  feeling  of  numbness  in  it,  and  a  peculiar  pricking 
sensation  which  he  compared  to  what  is  felt  in  a  limb,  when 
the  circulation  has  been  for  a  time  arrested.  This  state  of  his 
right  side  caused  a  partial  lameness  during  the  rest  of  his  days. 
He  also  regained  in  a  great  measure  his  mental  vigour,  but  his 
memory  of  names  he  never  recovered.  He  could  not  even 
name  his  own  children,  and  what  is  somewhat  singular,  he  very 
often  called  one  by  the  name  of  another. 


REV.   JAMES    MACGREGOR,   D.D.  491 

In  a  short  time  he  resumed  his  public  duties  in  his  congre- 
gation, and  continued  to  discharge  them  till  the  week  of  his 
death,  visiting,  catechizing  and  preaching  as  formerly.  During 
this  period  his  preaching  was  of  a  peculiar  character.  In 
intellectual  power  many  thought  his  discourses  equal  to  the 
performances  of  his  early  days.  In  this  respect  the  only  marked 
feature,  and  it  was  one  which  he  felt  more  than  was  apparent 
to  others,  was  the  difficulty,  fi'om  the  state  of  his  memory,  of 
recollecting  the  course  of  thought  which  he  had  traced  out  for 
himself.  He  wrote  out  a  sketch  of  his  sermon,  but  was  obliged 
to  keep  his  finger  on  his  MS.,  following  what  he  had  written, 
in  order  to  retain  the  thread  of  his  discourse.  On  one  occasion 
he  could  not  find  his  text.  He  opened  the  Bible  and  turned 
over  the  leaves,  looking  for  it  but  without  success.  He  then 
said  that  he  had  forgotten  where  his  text  was,  but  he  knew  the 
subject  of  it,  and  turning  to  another  text,  he  preached  with  his 
usual  earnestness  and  vigour.  It  was  remarked  too  that  he 
recollected  the  scriptures  almost  as  well  as  ever,  and  quoted 
them  as  freely  and  as  fully  as  ever,  but  he  could  not  recollect 
the  names  of  the  writers,  and  did  not  attempt  to  name  the 
books  from  which  his  quotations  were  taken.  But  the  feature 
which  chiefly  characterized  his  preaching,  was  the  heavenly 
spirit  which  breathed  through  all  he  said.  He  felt  the  sen- 
tence of  death  in  himself.  He  knew  that  in  a  very  short  time 
he  must  preach  his  last  sermon,  and  that  at  any  moment 
he  might  be  cut  down,  and  he  preached  "as  dying  unto  dying 
men."  He  might  be  described  as  dwelling  in  the  land  Beulah, 
and  he  addressed  his  fellow-men  as  on  the  very  verge  of  heaven, 
and  as  if  he  already  breathed  the  air  of  the  better  land. 

The  same  spirit  was  manifest  in  private.  He  still  studied, 
but  a  tendency  to  lethargy,  and  the  difficulty  of  writing  from 
the  paralyzed  state  of  his  right  hand,  partially  unfitted  him  for 
this  work.  He  was  thus  left  more  to  meditation,  and  his  thoughts 
seemed  to  be  much  in  heaven.  He  showed  the  same  gift,  wliich 
he  had  always  possessed,  of  giving  conversation  a  religious  turn, 
but  now  heaven  was  his  chief  theme.     One  day  coming  up  to 


492  MEMOIR   OP   THE 

the  Academy,  where  a  number  of  the  students  were  standing, 
they  spoke  to  him,  asking  him  how  he  was?  *'0h,"  he  said, 
"  very  well,  except  this  poor  side,  but  one  moment  of  heaven 
will  be  worth  it  all."  Sometimes,  when  musing, — on  the  clock 
striking,  he  would  say,  "  I  have  been  here  another  hour."  In 
the  evening  after  tea,  he  commonly  sat  with  his  right  side  to 
the  fire,  and  frequently  slept  till  the  time  of  family  worship. 
A  gentleman  who  lodged  in  his  house  the  winter  before  he 
died,  was  surprised  on  one  of  these  occasions  by  his  breaking 
out  into  prayer  in  his  sleep.  The  prayer  was  of  considerable 
length,  and  had  all  the  characteristics  of  a  family  prayer.  It 
was  slightly  incoherent,  but  only  sufficiently  so  to  indicate  that 
he  was  asleep.  On  enquiry  of  Mrs.  MacGregor,  he  was  informed 
that  he  frequently  prayed  in  his  sleep.  One  morning  a  few 
days  before  his  death, — his  daughter,  about  fifteen  years  of  age, 
said  to  him,  "  0  father,  I  dreamed  that  you  were  a  king,  and 
that  they  were  putting  a  crown  on  you."  "  Oh,"  said  he  in  a 
most  pleasant  manner,  "  I  will  soon  be  better  than  a  king,  and 
wear  a  crown  of  glory." 

His  condition  at  this  time  cannot  be  better  presented  than  in 
the  description  given  by  the  immortal  dreamer  of  the  state  of 
the  Pilgrims  when  in  sight  of  the  City  : 

"Now,  I  saw  in  my  dream,  that  by  this  time  the  Pilgrims 
were  got  over  the  enchanted  ground,  and  entering  into  the 
country  of  Beulah,  (  Isa.  Ixii.  4-12.  Song  ii.  10-12,)  whose  air 
was  very  sweet  and  pleasant.  The  way  lying  directly  through 
it,  they  solaced  themselves  there  for  a  season.  Yea,  here  they 
heard  continually  the  singing  of  birds,  and  saw  every  day  the 
flowers  appear  in  the  earth,  and  heard  the  voice  of  the  turtle  in 
the  land.  In  this  country  the  sun  shineth  night  and  day; 
wherefore  this  was  beyond  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death, 
and  also  out  of  the  reach  of  Giant  Despair;  neither  could  they 
from  this  place  so  much  as  see  Doubting  Castle.  Here  tliey 
were  within  sight  of  the  City  they  were  going  to;  also  here  met 
them  some  of  the  inhabitants  thereof;  for,  in  this  land  the  shi- 
ning ones  commonly  walked,  because  it  was  upon  the  borders 


REV.    JAMES   MACQREaOR,   D.D.  493 

of  heaven.  In  this  land  also,  the  contract  between  the  Bride 
and  Bridegroom  was  renewed  ;  yea,  here,  "  as  the  bridegroom  re- 
joiceth  over  the  bride,  so  doth  their  God  rejoice  over  them." 
Here  they  Ii;id  no  want  of  corn  or  wine,  for,  in  this  place  they 
met  with  abundance  of  what  they  had  sought  for  in  all  their 
pilgrimage.  Here  they  heard  voices  from  out  the  city, — loud 
voices,  saying,  '  Say  ye  to  the  daughters  of  Zion,  Behold  thy 
salvation  cometh  !  Behold  his  reward  is  with  him.'  Here 
all  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  called  them  '  the  holy  peo- 
ple, the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  sought  out,  &c.' 

"  Now  as  they  walked  in  this  land,  they  had  more  rejoicing 
than  in  parts  more  remote  from  the  kingdom  to  which  they 
were  bound;  and  drawing  near  to  the  City,  they  had  yet  a  more 
perfect  view  thereof.  It  was  builded  of  pearls  and  precious 
stones,  also  the  streets  thereof  were  paved  with  gold  ;  so  that  by 
reason  of  the  natural  glory  of  the  city,  and  the  reflection  of  the 
sun-beams  upon  it,  Christian  with  desire  fell  sick.  Hopeful 
also  had  a  fit  or  two  of  the  same  disease.  Wherefore  here  they 
Jay  by  it  a  while,  crying  out  because  of  their  pangs,  *  If  ye  see 
my  beloved,  tell  him  that  I  am  sick  of  love.' 

"  But  being  a  little  strengthened  and  better  able  to  bear  their 
sickness,  they  walked  on  their  way  and  came  yet  nearer  and 
nearer,  where  were  orchards,  vineyards,  and  gardens,  and  their 
gates  opened  into  the  highway.  Now  as  they  came  up  to  these 
places,  behold,  the  gardener  stood  in  the  way ;  to  whom  the  Pil- 
grims said,  '  Whose  goodly  vineyards  and  gardens  are  these  i" 
He  answered,  *  They  are  the  King's,  and  they  are  planted  here 
for  his  own  delights,  and  also  for  the  solace  of  Pilgrims.'  So 
the  gardener  had  them  into  the  vineyards,  and  bid  them  re- 
fresh themselves  with  the  dainties  (Deut.  i.  23,  24)  ;  he  also 
shewed  them  there  the  King's  walks,  and  the  arbours  where 
he  delighted  to  be,  and  here  they  tarried  and  slept. 

'*  Now,  I  beheld  in  my  dream  th;it  tliey  t:ilked  more  in  their 

sleep  at  this  time  than  ever  they  did    in  all  their  journey  ;   and 

beiug  in  a  muse  thereabout,  the  gardener   said   even    to  me, 

'  Wherefore  musest  thou  at  the  matter  ?     It  is  the  nature  of  the 

42 


494  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

fruit  of  the  grapes  of  these  vineyards,  "  to  go  down  so  sweetly 
as  to  cause  the  lips  of  them  that  are  asleep  to  speak." 

"  So  I  saw  that  when  they  awoke,  they  addressed  themselves 
to  go  up  to  the  city.  But,  as  I  said,  the  reflection  of  the  sun 
upon  the  city,  (for  the  city  was  pure  gold,)  (Rev.  xxi.  18; 
2  Cor.  iii.  18,)  was  so  extremely  glorious  that  they  could  not, 
as  yet,  with  open  face  behold  it,  but  through  an  instrument 
made  for  that  purpose.  So  I  saw  that,  as  they  went  on,  there 
met  them  two  men  in  raiment  that  shone  like  gold,  also  their 
faces  shone  as  the  light. 

"These  men  asked  the  Pilgrims  whence  they  came;  and 
they  told  them.  They  also  asked  them  where  they  had  lodged, — 
what  difficulties  and  dangers,  what  comforts  and  pleasures, 
they  had  met  in  the  way;  and  they  told  them.  Then  said 
the  men  that  met  them,  '  You  have  but  two  difficulties  more 
to  meet  with,  and  then  you  are  in  the  city.'  " 

At  length  he  reached  the  brink  of  the  river,  but  his  passage 
across  was  neither  long  nor  stormy.  He  continued  to  discharge 
all  the  duties  of  the  ministry  till  the  very  close  of  life,  having 
been  engaged  in  pastoral  visitation  but  a  few  days  before  his 
death,  and  having  on  the  Sabbath  previous  preached  with  more 
than  ordinary  vigour.  On  that  day  being  the  28th  February, 
1830,  his  texts  were  in  Gaelic,  Rom.  v.  10 ;  and  in  English, 
Eph.  ii.  7,  8,  and  he  preached  in  a  manner  which,  considering 
the  debilitated  state  of  his  health,  surprised  the  congregation. 
On  Monday  the  Rev.  John  I.  Baxter,  being  then  a  student  of 
Theology,  spent  the  evening  with  him  reading  Hebrew.  After 
Mr.  B.  left,  he  engaged  in  family  worship.  The  Presbytery 
was  to  meet  next  day,  and  he  was  as  usual  looking  forward  with 
eagerness  to  the  prospect  of  meeting  his  brethren.  He  had 
just  given  directions  to  Mrs.  MacGregor  to  prepare  his  clothes 
for  him  for  the  next  day,  and  was  preparing  for  the  repose  of 
the  night,  when  he  was  visited  with  another  paralytic  stroke. 
Suddenly  his  bodily  frame  was  shaken,  the  icatures  of  his  face 
were  distorted,  his  power  of  expression  was  gone,  and  he  was 
in  the  act  of  falling  on  the  hearth,  when  Mrs.  MacGregor,  being 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D.  495 

in  the  room  at  the  time,  caught  him  in  time  to  prevent  his  fall. 
Medical  aid  was  promptly  called  in,  but  the  physician  at  once 
pronounced  his  case  iiopeless.  After  this  he  may  be  said  to 
have  hold  no  communication  with  his  family.  He  survived, 
however,  apparently  in  great  agony,  though  probably  ixncon- 
scious  either  of  mental  or  bodily  sensation,  till  Wednesday  fore- 
noon, when  he  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 

From  the  manner  of  his  death  there  was  no  opportunity  of 
his  giving  one  of  those  death-bed  testimonies,  so  comforting  to 
friends,  so  useful  to  survivors,  and  so  honouring  to  religion. 
But  we  are  reminded  of  an  anecdote  of  Whitefield,  which 
seems  to  suit  this  case.  In  the  last  visit  but  one  which  he 
paid  to  America,  he  spent  a  day  or  two  at  Princeton,  under  the 
roof  of  the  Rev.  Doctor  Finley,  the  President  of  the  College 
there,  x^fter  dinner  the  Doctor  said,  "  Mr.  Whitefield,  I  hope 
it  will  be  very  long  before  you  will  be  called  home,  but  when 
that  event  shall  arrive,  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear  the  noble  testi- 
mony you  will  bear  for  God."  "  You  would  be  disappointed. 
Doctor,"  said  W^hitefield,  *' I  shall  die  silent.  It  has  phased 
God  to  enable  me  to  hear  so  many  testimonies  for  Mm  during 
my  life,  that  he  will  require  none  from  me  ichen  I  die.  No,  no, 
it  is  your  dumb  Christians,  that  have  walked  in  fear  and  dark- 
ness, and  thereby  been  unable  to  bear  a  testimony  for  God 
during  their  lives,  that  he  compels  to  speak  out  for  him  on  their 
death- beds." 

We  will  not  say  that  this  is  any  thing  like  a  universal  rule 
of  God's  procedure.  Yet  when  we  consider  how  Chalmers  and 
W^hitefield,  and  others  of  the  most  laborious  of  his  servants, 
have  been  summoned  away  in  the  midst  of  their  toils,  without 
being  permitted  to  give  any  death-bed  testimony  to  the  power 
of  the  gospel,  we  feel  as  if  it  were  not  uncommon  in  the  arrange- 
ments of  divine  wisdom  that  those  who  have  been  most  abun- 
dant in  labour,  should  leave  their  testimony  for  God  in  their 
lives  of  usefulness.     ''Their  works  do  follow  them." 

Yet  his  whole  course  from  the  time  of  his  first  attack  of 
paralysis  was  a  death-bed  testimon}-,  and  that  of  the  most  de- 


496  MEMOIR   OF    TIIK 

lightful  and  impressive  kind.  It  was  the  walk  of  one  who  felt 
himself  daily  on  the  vcrjre  of  eternity,  and  who  lived  almost  as 
if  his  spirit  had  crossed  its  threshold.  On  calmly  reviewing 
the  whole  then,  we  may  say  with  the  poet 

Fitting  close 
For  such  a  life  !  His  twelve  long  sunny  hours 
Bright  to  the  edge  of  cLirkness  ;  then  the  culm 
Repose  of  twilight  and  a  crown  of  stars. 

Thus  died  James  MacGregor,  and  we  may  say  that  few  men 
have  been  more  warmly  loved  while  living,  and  more  deeply 
mourned  when  dead.  Hundreds  of  homes  were  filled  with 
weeping,  at  the  intelligence  of  his  sudden  departure.  Not  only 
in  the  county  of  Pictou,  but  far  beyond,  multitudes  of  all  classes 
— the  old,  with  whom  he  had  shared  the  privations  of  their 
early  settlement, — the  middle  aged,  who  iu  youth  had  learned 
from  him  their  first  lessons  in  spiritual  things — and  the  young, 
who  had  been  taught  from  infancy  to  pronounce  his  name  as 
something  sacred,  but  whose  reverence  had  been  tempered  by 
afiection  as  he  moved  among  them,  alike  mourned  him  as  a 
father  and  a  friend ;  while  from  those  interested  in  the  afiixirs 
of  that  church,  in  whose  welfare  he  felt  so  lively  an  interest, 
and  for  whose  establishment  he  had  laboured  so  zealously,  there 
arose  a  cry,  like  that  of  the  sons  of  the  prophets,  on  the  ascen- 
sion of  Elijah,  "  My  father,  my  father,  the  chariots  of  Israel 
and  the  horsemen  thereof." 

On  the  Saturday  following,  "  devout  men  carried  him  to  his 
burial  and  made  great  lamentation  over  him."  The  funeral 
was  the  largest  ever  known  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and, 
with  all  the  increase  of  population,  and  all  the  increased  facili- 
ties for  intercourse,  probably  the  largest  that  has  yet  taken  place 
in  the  Province,  it  having  been  calculated  that  there  were 
scarcely  less  than  two  thousand  persons  present,  "I  shall 
never,"  said  the  Rev.  John  MacKinlay,  ''forget  the  peculiarly 
imposing  solemnity  of  the  procession — a  dark,  dense  column 
of  mourners,  headed  by  a  few  venerable  individuals,  the  par- 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  497 

ticular  friends  of  the  deceased,  slowly  advancing,  under  a  bril- 
liant sun,  and  along  the  pure,  dazzling  snow,  to  the  sacred  spot 
where  his  mortal  remains  shall  repose  till  the  resurrection." 

By  appointment  of  Presbytery,  the  Rev.  Duncan  lloss,  now 
tho  senior  minister  of  the  district,  preached  on  Sabbath  to  his 
congregation,  giving  extensive  details  of  his  labours  and  use- 
fulness, and  amid  deep  and  heartfelt  expressions  of  sorrow,  ex- 
horting them  to  "  remember  the  things  which  he  spake  while 
he  was  yet  present  with  them."  In  most  of  the  congregations 
of  the  body,  as  well  as  by  ministers  of  other  denominations,  the 
event  v/as  referred  to,  with  suitable  expressions  of  admiration 
for  his  character  and  labours. 

A  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory  with  the  following 
inscription,  composed  by  Doctor  MacCulloch,  of  which  copies 
may  be  seen  framed  in  many  houses,  particularly  on  the  East 
River. 

AS     A     TRIBUTE 

OP  AFFECTIONATE   REGARD   FOR   THE   MEMORY   OF   THE  LATE 

JAMES    MACGREGOR,    D.D., 

The  first  Presbyterian  minister  of  this  district,  who  departed 
this  life,  March  3,  1830,  in  the  71st  year  of  his  age,  and  the 
46th  of  his  ministry,  this  tombstone  was  erected  by  a  num- 
ber of  those  who  cherish  a  grateful  remembrance  of  his  apos- 
tolic zeal  and  labours  of  love. 

When  the  early  settlers  of  Pictou  could  afford  to  a  minister 
of  the  gospel  little  else  than  a  participation  of  their  hardships, 
he  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  destitute,  became  to  them  a  pattern 
of  patient  endurance,  and  cheered  them  with  the  tidings  of  sal- 
vation. Like  Him  whom  he  served,  he  went  about  doing  good. 
Neither  toil  nor  privation  deterred  him  from  his  Master's  work, 
and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  prospered  in  his  hand.  He  lived 
to  witness  the  success  of  his  labours  in  the  erection  of  numer- 
42* 


498  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

ous  churches,  and  in  the  establishment  of  a  Seminary,  from 
which  these  churches  could  be  provided  with  religious  instruc- 
tors. Though  so  highly  honoured  of  the  Lord,  few  have  ex- 
ceeded him  in  Christian  humility ;  save  in  the  cross  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  he  gloried  iu  nothing;  and  as  a  public 
teacher,  combining  instruction  with  example,  he  approved  him- 
self to  be  a  follower  of  them  Avho  through  faith  and  patience 
now  inherit  the  promises. 

Doctor  MacGregor  was  rather  above  the  middle  size,  had  a 
somewhat  long  visage,  and  dark  complexion,  was  spare  in  flesh, 
and  possessed  an  athletic  active  frame.  No  portrait  of  him  is 
in  existence. 

It  might  be  expected  that  we  should  now  give  some  more 
particular  delineation  of  his  character.  But  our  effort  has  been 
an  entire  failure,  if  this  does  not  appear  better  in  the  facts 
which  we  have  recorded,  than  in  any  description  we  could  here 
give.  All  we  could  say  might  be  comprehended  in  the  eulo- 
gium  of  a  gentleman,  whom  we  have  already  named,  a  stranger, 
who  came  to  reside  on  the  East  River,  and  who  belonged  to  an- 
other denomination,  that  "he  was  the  most  like  what  he  could 
imagine  Christ  to  have  been,  of  any  man  he  had  ever  seen." 
A  few  testimonies  borne  to  him,  however,  we  have  inserted  in 
the  Appendix,  (See  Appendix  Gr.)  Should  we  be  accused  of 
the  partiality  of  the  friend  or  the  biographer,  we  dare  aver  be- 
fore the  Searcher  of  Hearts,  that  our  aim  has  been  to  present 
him  as  he  was,  and  we  solemnly  affirm,  that  we  know  not  one 
fact  to  his  discredit,  which  we  have  concealed. 

We  may,  however,  make  a  few  remarks  on  his  mental  powers, 
as  it  will  afford  us  an  opportunity  of  referring  to  some  points 
yet  untouched.  It  has  been  remarked,  that  it  is  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  find  a  person,  who  excels  in  the  gifts  of  conversation, 
writing,  and  public  speaking.  Such  is  the  division  of  natural 
gifts  among  the  children  of  men,  that  it  is  not  common  to  find 
an  individual  who  occupies  an  eminent  position  in  even  two  of 
these  departments.     The  great  writer  is  often  no  orator,  and  is 


REV.    JAMES   MACGREGOR,    D.D.  499 

as  frequently  deficient  in  conversational  powers;  while  the  wri- 
tings of  the  thorough  orator  may  be  unread,  and  the  delightful 
companion  of  the  social  circle  may  fail  to  make  any  impression 
from  a  public  platform.  ]Jut  we  do  claim  for  the  subject  of  our 
memoir  a  high  place  in  each  of  these  departments.  As  to  his 
conversational  powers,  we  have  had  occasion  so  frequently  to 
refer  to  them,  that  we  do  not  feel  it  necessary  to  advert  par- 
ticularly to  the  subject  again.  This  was  one  of  the  first  fea- 
tures, which  struck  every  person  who  met  with  him.  And  we 
may  remark,  that  not  only  were  the  common  people  interested 
in  his  conversation,  but  the  most  cultivated  minds  were  de- 
lighted with  his  society,  and  were  often  struck  with  the  extent 
of  his  information,  and  the  vigour  and  originality  of  his 
thoughts. 

As  a  writer  he  had  not  much  opportunity  to  distinguish  him- 
self. Engaged  all  his  life  in  the  most  arduous  labours,  in  cir- 
cumstances the  most  unfavourable  for  literary  pursuits,  it  would 
be  no  matter  of  surprise  if  he  should  not  have  added  any  thing  to 
the  permanent  Theological  Literature  of  his  day.  But  the  ex- 
isting specimens  of  his  writings  aifurd  abundant  evidence,  that 
he  possessed  strong  powers  of  mind,  capable  of  grappling  with 
the  most  profound  subjects  of  human  investigations — clear  rea- 
soning powers — together  with  a  somewhat  poetical  tempera- 
ment, which  lent  a  grace  to  his  speculations,  so  that,  had  this 
been  the  sphere  to  which  he  devoted  himself,  he  might  have 
won  for  himself  a  high  rank  among  Theological  writers.  In 
proof  of  this  we  need  only  refer  to  his  defence  of  the  Impreca- 
tions of  the  Psalms.  Under  any  circumstances  we  would  con- 
sider that  treatise  sufficient  to  establish  his  character  as  an 
original  thinker,  and  a  forcible  writer.  But  when  we  consider, 
that  it  was  written  before  he  was  thirty  years  of  age,  when  he 
was  entirely  secluded  from  literary  society,  and  even  from  all 
intercourse  with  men  of  education, — when  he  was  engaged 
daily  in  most  harassing  toils — and  when  he  had  access  to  no 
books  but  the  Bible,  and  the  few  old  volumes  he  had  brought 
with  him  from  Scotland,  we  cannot  help  regarding  it  as  a  won- 


500  MEMOIR   OF  THE 

derful  production.  He  has  there  anticipated  the  latest  investi- 
gations of  modern  criticism  on  the  question,  and  we  know  of 
no  work  in  the  English  language  to  the  present  day,  in  which 
the  whole  subject  is  discussed  in  a  manner  so  exhaustive  and 
so  satisfactory. 

His  style  is  remarkably  clear  and  simple,  yet  vigorous  withal. 
We  question  if  there  will  be  found  one  unintelligible  or  con- 
fused sentence  in  all  that  he  has  written,  while  he  often  excels 
in  condensing  a  large  amount  of  meaning  into  a  single  phrase. 
These  excellences  of  his  style  are  doubtless  owing  in  the  first 
instance  to  the  clearness  and  force  of  his  conceptions,  but  in 
the  next  place  to  the  fact  that  his  language  is  generally  the 
strong  sturdy  Saxon  of  Bunyan  and  the  fathers  of  English 
Literature. 

It  should  be  remarked  here,  that  the  Gaelic  was  his  native 
tonsrue.  His  fomily  judge  that  he  thought  most  in  it,  from  the 
fact  that  if  disturbed  when  engaged  in  thought,  his  first  excla- 
mation was  usually  in  that  language.  Perhaps  the  quaintness 
of  some  of  the  expressions  in  his  earlier  compositions,  is  owing 
to  this  cause ;  but  his  later  writings  possess  such  accuracy  of 
language  and  purity  of  idiom,  that  none  would  have  supposed 
from  them,  that  he  had  been  trained  in  another  tongue.  We 
may  remark  here,  that  he  had  somewhat  of  a  philological  taste, 
which  may  account  for  his  being  so  thoroughly  master  of  both 
languages.  Thus  we  find  him  not  only  well  acquainted  with 
the  sacred  languages,  but  importing  at  one  time  a  Modern  Greek 
Testament,  at  another  a  Welsh  Bible,  and  we  have  heard  of  his 
studying  some  portions  of  the  language  of  the  Basque  Pro- 
vinces, and  pronouncing  it,  in  opposition  to  the  judgment  of 
many  scholars,  to  be  a  dialect  of  the  Celtic. 

But  the  generation  which  knew  him  best  will  always  consider 
that  it  was  as  a  preacher  that  he  exhibited  the  highest  powers. 
His  coteraporaries  generally  will  always  believe  that,  in  this 
character,  he  was  unrivalled  in  this  part  of  the  world.  This 
opinion  was  entertained  of  him  by  all  classes  of  society.  "  The 
common  people  heard  him  gladly,"  but  the   most  cultivated 


REV.    JAMES    MACGREOOR,    D.D.  501 

minds  were  scarcely  less  impressed  under  his  pveacliinf]:. 
Many  of  the  facts  recorded  in  the  memoir,  afford  evidence  of 
his  power  iu  public  address.  Of  his  sermons  the  great  charac- 
teristics were  plainness  and  simplicity.  The  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel were  stated  iu  a  manner  level  to  the  comprehension  of  a 
child.  A  clergyman  recently  deceased,  informed  us  that  he  re- 
tained a  distinct  recollection  of  the  course  of  thought  in  lec- 
tures, heard  from  him  when  he  was  eight  years  of  age.  The 
people  were  generally  of  humble  attainments,  and  his  illustra- 
tions of  divine  things  were  commonly  taken  from  the  most 
familiar  objects.  Sometimes  he  used  strong  and  what  might 
almost  be  termed  rough  expressions,  but  they  were  such  as  con- 
ve3'ed  his  meaning  in  a  way  that  would  not  readily  be  forgotten. 
We  give  a  single  example.  Describing  the  worthlessness  and 
vileness  of  mankind  by  nature,  he  wound  up  by  saying,  that 
they  were  fit  only  to  be  "shovelled  into  hell." 

In  his  mnnner,  too,  the  great  peculiarity  was  the  absence  of 
all  art.  There  were  none  of  the  tricks  of  oratory.  One  great 
charm  of  all  he  said,  was  that  it  seemed  to  come  so  naturally 
from  the  heart.  But  there  was  all  the  earnestness  and  the  com- 
plete absorption  with  his  subject  which  marks  the  genuine 
orator.  He  had  not  much  action,  but  as  he  warmed  with  his 
subject,  his  eye  kindled  with  such  brilliancy,  that  it  seemed  to 
pierce  through  each  beholder,  and  his  whole  frame  seemed 
instinct  with  emotion.  And  he  had  all  the  command  over  the 
feelings  of  his  audience  which  marks  the  genuine  orator.  la 
preaching  the  law,  or  proclaiming  the  justice  of  God  against 
sinners,  he  was  sometimes  terrific.  As  one  described  it,  "  You 
would  think  that  the  judgments  of  heaven  were  about  to  alight 
on  you,"  or  as  another  said,  "  He  would  almost  make  your  hair 
stand  on  end."  But  his  highest  delight  was  to  proclaim  the 
gracious  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  on  such  themes  as  the  love 
of  God  to  sinners,  or  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  the  teiirs  coursed 
down  his  cheeks,  though  commonly  he  still  retained  firmness 
enough  to  proceed,  a  tremor  of  his  voice,  peculiarly  affecting, 
marking  the  depth   of  his  emotions.     In   his  later  years  this 


502  MEMOIR   OF   THE 

tenderness  increased,  so  that  he  was  sometimes  so  overcome,  as 
to  be  unable  for  a  little  to  proceed.  At  tliis  period  of  life  he 
seldom  addressed  a  communion  table  without  shedding  tears. 

In  short,  if  he  was  not  "  the  best  minister  that  ever  came  to 
America,"  as  we  have  repeatedly  heard  him  termed,  it  would 
be  useless  to  attempt  to  remove  the  idea  from  the  minds  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Pictou,  and  the  early  inhabitants  of  many  other 
places  in  these  Provinces.  We  have  visited  such  on  their 
dying  beds,  and  when  the  faculties  were  so  far  gone,  that  they 
did  not  know  their  own  children,  we  have  seen  the  eye  brighten 
at  the  mention  of  his  name,  and  the  soul  awake  to  utter  enthu- 
siastic praises  of  him.  In  vain  have  we  tried  to  reason  with 
such,  that  the  same  divine  grace  which  made  him  what  he  was 
could  make  others  as  good.  With  them  there  could  be  but  one 
Doctor  MacGregor,  and  as  Foster  said  of  Robert  Hall,  "while 
rciidy  to  give  due  honour  to  all  valuable  preachers,  and  know- 
ing that  the  lights  of  religious  instruction  will  still  shine  with 
useful  lustre,  and  new  ones  continually  rise,  they  involuntarily 
turn  to  look  at  the  last  fading  colours  in  the  distance  where  the 
greater  luminary  has  set." 

We  have  scarcely  said  any  thing  of  him  in  the  domestic 
circle,  but  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  do  more  than  remark,  that 
the  light  of  his  Christian  example  shone  as  brightly  there  as  in 
any  sphere  of  Christian  life.  Much  of  his  time  when  at  home 
was  spent  in  study.  Eeturning  home  from  visiting,  he  some- 
times scarcely  took  time  to  warm  himself,  till  he  sat  down  to 
his  books  or  his  writing.  He  was  able  to  prosecute  his  studies 
undisturbed  even  by  the  presence  of  his  family.  His  children 
remember  that  they  might  pursue  their  innocent  sports  without 
his  seeming  to  heed  them  in  the  least,  but  the  moment  that 
any  thin-c:  improper  was  said  or  done,  he  checked  them  with  the 
rapidity  of  thought.  But  he  was  not  so  absorbed  either  in 
study  or  public  work,  as  to  neglect  the  moral  and  religious 
education  of  his  children,  and  his  faithfulness  appears  in  the 
result.  Trained  up  in  the  way  they  should  go,  not  one  of  them 
has  departed  from  it,  and  it  would  not  be  easy  to  convince  the 


REV.   JAMES   MACQREGOR,   D.D.  503 

members  of  that  houseliold,  that  any  other  family  ever  had  so 
good  a  husband  and  t'atlicr  as  they. 

It  will  bo  proper  to  add  some  particular  notice  of  the  subse- 
quent life  and  last  days  of  her,  who,  for  eighteen  years,  had 
been  the  Doctor's  nearest  and  dearest  associate  on  earth.  We 
are  happy,  therefore,  to  insert  the  following,  furnished  by  a 
member  of  the  family  : 

"Though  sorely  stricken  by  this  heavy  blow,  (viz.,  her  hus- 
band's death,)  she  did  not  sink  into  despair,  or  refuse  to  be 
comforted.  She  rose  in  the  strength  of  promised  grace,  and 
devoted  herself  to  the  care  of  her  family.  In  the  cottage  where 
her  husband  had  spent  his  last  days,  she  dwelt  in  peace,  reign- 
ing in  the  affections  of  the  younger  portion  of  the  family  who 
dwelt  with  her,  and  receiving  many  marks  of  undiminished  re- 
gard from  those  of  riper  years,  who  were  now  gathering  little 
families  around  their  own  hearth-stones.  Pleasant  days  were 
these  to  which  we  revert  with  great  delight,  when  the  younger 
members  of  the  family  dwelt  together,  or  were  separated  only 
for  short  seasons  as  circumstances  rendered  necessary.  Gradually 
however,  one  after  another  was  called  in  Providence  to  leave 
the  parental  roof  tree.  One  removed  to  New  Glasgow.  Her 
second  daughter  was  united  in  marriage  to  Rev.  J.  I.  Baxter, 
of  Onslow,  and  removed  thither.  Her  third  daughter,  becoming 
the  wife  of  Rev,  J.  Campbell,  dwelt  in  St.  Mary's.  Her  only 
son,  the  Rev.  P.  G.  MacGregor,  having  been  licensed  in  1841 
as  a  preacher,  was  settled  during  the  same  year  in  Guysboro, 
and  in  18-13  in  Halifax.  The  marriage  of  her  youngest  daugh- 
ter to  Rev.  J.  Cameron,  of  Nine  Mile  River,  involved  the  ne- 
cessity of  some  change  in  domestic  arrangements,  and,  among 
the  many  homes  offered,  she  accepted  of  the  invitation  to  ac- 
company her  youngest  and  last  married  daughter  to  her  new 
home  at  Nine  Mile  River.  Arriving  there,  after  a  rest  of  a 
few  weeks  in  Onslow,  she  was  surrounded  with  a  people  who 
were  entire  strangers,  and  removed  far  from  the  familiar  faces 
and  dear  friends,  with  whom,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
she  had  dwelt  in  peace  and  happiness.     Yet  her   cheerfulness 


504  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

and  contentment  were  undiminished,  even  when  visited  with 
an  affliction,  calculated  to  subject  them  to  a  severe  trial.  Her 
hearing  was  slightly  impaired  by  a  cold  taken  about  the  time 
of  her  change  of  residence.  Restored  for  a  time,  it  was  lost 
olmost  entirely  through  a  return  of  cold  in  the  head.  She  went 
to  the  hou.se  of  God  as  in  times  past,  and  worshipped  in  spirit, 
but  alas!  the  voice  of  the  preacher  and  the  psalm  of  praise  were 
no  longer  audible.  She  could  no  longer  hear  or  take  part  in 
ordinary  conversation.  Deeply  she  felt  the  loss  sustained  by 
the  diminution  of  social  intercourse,  but  more  deeply  the  loss 
of  the  sanctuary  services,  which  now  appeared  to  have  termina- 
ted for  her  on  earth.  Yet  she  never  murmured,  and  never 
forsook  the  assemblies  of  Zion.  She  loved  to  be  there,  and 
in  communion  with  the  God  of  her  youth  enjoyed  the  bles- 
sedness of  those  who  '  dicell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.' 
She  now  spent  much  of  her  time  in  retirement,  and,  unless 
present  with  the  family,  her  employment  appeared  to  con- 
sist chiefly  of  reading,  meditation,  and  prayer.  She  marked 
the  dispensation,  and  expressed  her  belief,  that  it  was  mer- 
cifully sent  to  withdraw  her  from  the  world,  and  to  lead  her  into 
closer  communion  with  God,  preparatory  to  her  appearance  in 
his  presence. 

"Having  paid  a  visit  to  her  son  in  Halifax,  this  affliction  was 
happily  removed  through  the  skill  and  kindness  of  Doctor  Par- 
ker, and  as  the  familiar  sounds  of  human  voices  were  again 
clearly  heard,  in  the  tones  of  ordinary  conversation,  tears  of 
gratitude  flowed  down  her  cheeks  in  copious  streams,  and  spe 
cial  thanks  were  given  to  God,  that  she  again  could  hear  tht 
glad  tidings  of  salvation,  and  join  with  the  multitude  who  kept 
holyday  in  songs  of  praise  to  her  Covenant  God  and  Redeemer. 
"  The  times  of  the  dispensation  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  at  Nine  Mile  River,  were  to  her  occasions  of  great  in- 
terest, especially  when  her  son  assisted  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cameron, 
whom  she  also  loved  as  a  son.  She  remained  throughout  the 
whole  services,  and  on  one  such  occasion  in  winter  accompanied 
them  to  a  distant  section  of  the  congregation,  to  be  present,  as- 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREQOR,   D.D.  505 

Bigning  as  a  reason  that  she  could  not  have  many  more  of  these 
precious  seasons,  and  must  improve  those  within  her  reach. 
"In  June,  1851,  she  determined  to  revisit  the  scenes  and  the 
friends  of  former  years.  Coming  first  to  Onslow,  about  the 
middle  of  June,  she  spent  a  week  or  ten  days  with  Mrs.  Bax- 
ter; all  the  other  members  of  the  family  she  was  to  meet  in 
New  Glasgow.  These  were  days  of  great  enjoyment  to  mother 
and  daughter.  She  received  and  returned  visits  of  friendship, 
was  present  at  religious  ordinances,  both  in  Onslow  and  Truro, 
and  no  indications  were  visible  to  the  most  observant  that  her 
race  was  so  nearly  run.  She  accompanied  Mr.  and  Mr.s.  Came- 
ron on  their  way  to  the  meeting  of  Synod,  and  on  the  evening  of 
Wednesday,  the  25th  of  June,  her  eldest  daughter,  Mrs.  James 
Fraser,  of  New  Glasgow,  had  the  satisfaction  of  receiving  her, 
apparently  in  her  usual  state  of  health,  to  spend  some  weeks 
together.  How  delusive  are  human  expectations  !  She  was  to 
watch  over  her  in  her  sickness,  to  close  her  eyes  in  death,  and 
then  having  for  a  short  season  proved  herself  not  only  a  sister 
but  a  mother  to  the  younger  members  of  the  family,  to  hear  the 
Master's  call,  and  to  go  also  at  his  summons. 

"  On  Thursday  her  children  and  grand-children  gathered  around 
her.  Other  dear  friends  called, — not  to  pay  visits  of  form,  but 
to  give  expression  to  their  feelings  of  affectionate  regard.  The 
two  following  days  (  Friday  and  Saturday)  were  spent  chiefly 
in  returning  these  visits,  and  in  affectionate  intercourse  with 
many  who  loved  her  for  her  own  virtues  and  graces,  and  who 
were  reminded  by  her  presence  of  the  worth  and  services  of  one 
over  whom  the  grave  had  now  closed  for  more  than  twenty 
years.  The  exertion  and  mental  excitement  of  these  days  were 
probably  too  much  for  her  feeble  frame,  but  no  injurious  effects 
were  yet  visible. 

"  On  the  Saturday  afternoon  and  evening  several  ministers 
coming  up  from  Synod  called,  which  prolonged  the  strain  upon 
her  nervous  system.  On  the  Lord's  day,  however,  she  was 
where  she  ever  delighted  to  be, — waiting  on  God  in  the  ordi- 
nances of  his  grace.  She  worshipped  in  Primitive  Church. 
43 


506  MEMOIR   OP  THE 

Rev.  Mr.  Baxter  preached  in  the  morning,  his  text  being  Psalm 
cxliv.  15,  '  Happy  is  that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.' 
Rev.  P.  G.  MacGregor  preaclied  in  the  afternoon  from  1  Sam. 
ii.  30,  *  Them  that  honour  me  I  will  honour.'  She  felt  it 
good  to  be  there.  She  expressed  the  satisfaction  which  the 
services  yielded  her,  and  her  determination  to  hear  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Sedgewick,  in  the  evening,  giving  as  a  reason  that  she 
might  never  have  another  opportunity  of  hearing  him.  Her 
son,  on  whose  arm  she  had  leaned  in  going  to,  and  returning 
from,  the  house  of  God,  perceiving  that  the  exertion  of  the 
previous  days  and  the  strain  of  two  long  services  had  produced 
some  measure  of  exhaustion,  advised  her  to  rest  at  home  during 
the  evening,  reminding  her  of  the  duty  of  guarding  against 
over-exertion.  She  yielded  to  advice.  On  the  morrow,  how- 
ever, she  was  indisposed,  whether  from  over-exertion  or  from 
cold,  taken  from  a  current  of  air  in  the  church,  none  could  tell. 
On  Tuesday  she  continued  poorly,  but  revived  somewhat  on 
Wednesday,  so  that  on  Thursday  morning,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ca- 
meron felt  free  to  return  home,  and  her  son  to  visit  friends  at 
Guysborough  and  St.  Mary's.  On  his  return  to  New  Glasgow 
on  the  morning  of  the  following  Thursday,  having  had  no  intel- 
ligence of  any  relapse,  he  found  that  she  had  passed  from  earth 
a  few  hours  previous. 

"  For  several  days  she  had  been  visibly  sinking,  but  as  her 
strength  had  frequently  been  much  prostrated  by  severe  colds, 
no  serious  alarm  was  taken  till  death  was  at  hand.  All  that 
filial  love  and  medical  skill  could  do  was  done.  Doctor  Forrest, 
then  the  resident  physician  in  New  Glasgow,  attended  her; 
while  she  was  watched  over,  by  one  of  the  most  loving  of  daugh- 
ters as  well  as  by  her  family.  Not  a  few  of  her  sayings  during 
those  days  and  nights  are  treasured  up  in  their  hearts.  To  the 
late  Mrs.  Carmichael,  a  much  loved  friend  of  many  years'  stand- 
ing, she  said,  *I  think  it  probable,  that  I  have  been  brought 
back  to  die  among  you.'  To  another  she  said  that  when  she 
placed  her  foot  on  the  waggon-step  at  Nine  Mile  River,  she 
thought  she  might  never  return,  and  took  a  farewell  look  of  the 


REV.   JAMES   MACGREGOR,   D.D.  607 

neat  cottage,  where  she  had   spent  two  happy  years  of  her 
life. 

*'  She  refused  to  have  persons  sitting  witli  her  by  night,  re- 
marking that  she  was  never  lonely.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions, awaking  from  sleep,  and  referring  evidently  to  her  dreams, 
she  said  to  her  daughter  on  her  entering  her  room,  '  I  am  al- 
ways seeing  those  old  men.'  '  What  old  men,  mother?'  was 
her  daughter's  inquiry.  She  replied,  ''The  old  men  who  used 
to  follow  father,  (/.  e.  her  husband,)  when  he  went  to  the  Up- 
per Settlement  and  other  places  to  preach.'  Doubtless,  she  was 
soon  to  join  with  many  of  those  old  men  in  singing  the  new 
song  before  the  throne. 

"On  Wednesday  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Herdman,Roy,aud  Walker 
called  on  her,  and  each  spent  some  time  with  her  in  religious 
conversation  and  prayer.  Toward  evening  she  inquired  if  her 
son  might  be  expected  on  that  evening,  and  learning  that  his 
arrival  was  not  probable;  she  remarked  that  she  had  been  highly 
privileged  on  that  day,  that  she  had  enjoyed  the  prayers  of 
three  ministers,  adding,  but  if  Peter  were  to  come  to-night,  he 
would  be  the  fourth. 

"During  the  night  she  slept.  Early  on  Thursday  she  asked 
to  be  helped  to  rise,  and  sit  upon  an  arm-chair.  She  appeared 
faint  and  requested  that  the  window  should  be  raised. — 'Twas 
done.  Her  head  dropped  on  the  chair,  and  in  a  few  moments 
she  breathed  her  last,  having  passed  away  without  a  moan  or  a 
struggle ;  her  countenance  in  death,  wearing  the  same  placid 
and  sweet  expression,  by  which  in  life  it  had  ever  been  distin- 
guished. 

"  On  the  12th,  devout  men  carried  her  body  to  the  grave. 
Though  this  was  done  with  many  tears  and  with  heartfelt  sorrow, 
yet  they  did  not  make  great  lamentation  over  her.  Those  who 
had  lost  a  mother  knew  that  she  had  been  called  home.  They 
knew  that  she  had  oft  directed  them  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  teach 
them  how  to  live  and  how  to  die ;  and  now  that  she  was  re- 
leased from  the  trials  of  earth,  they  felt  persuaded  that  her  ab- 
sence from  the  body  was  presence  with  the  Lord. 


508  MEMOIR   OF   TUE 

"  She  left  behind  her  no  enemy.  Her  mental  powers  were  not 
above  mediocrity.  She  was  remarkable,  rather  for  the  sweet- 
ness of  her  disposition,  for  the  consistency  of  her  Christian 
walk,  and  the  ardour  of  her  devotional  feelings.  She  loved  di- 
vine truth,  and  her  own  New  Testament,  in  large  print,  bore 
tlie  marks  of  a  book  which  had  been  carefully  read.  She  taught 
her  children  to  fear  and  to  love  God.  She  prayed  for  them, 
and  with  them.  In  the  absence  of  others  to  conduct  family 
worship,  the  household  were  not  left  to  go  forth  to  the  world 
without  meeting  together  at  the  throne  of  the  heavenly  grace. 
With  reverence  and  fervour,  strongly  indicated  in  the  tones  of 
her  voice,  the  sound  of  which  the  writer  will  never  forget,  she 
pled  with  the  God  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  her  covenant 
God,  who  had  led  her  in  youth,  and  through  life,  to  guard  and 
guide  them  through  all  dangers  on  earth,  to  lead  them  to  Jesus, 
and  to  fit  them  for  his  everlasting  kingdom  in  glory. 

"  Her  trust  in  Providence  never  failed.  She  rose  under  diffi- 
culties. Committing  herself  to  God  in  prayer  and  using  dili- 
gently appointed  means,  she  rested  with  confidence  on  the 
divine  promises.  Her  calmness  was  seldom  disturbed.  She 
dwelt  under  the  shadow  of  the  wings  of  Him  that  is  the  Al- 
mighty. Thus  living,  her  end  was  peace.  Having  served  her 
generation,  she  fell  asleep." 

Doctor  MacGregor  had  eleven  children  born  to  him.  Of 
these,  two  died  when  but  a  few  days  old.  The  remaining  nine, 
viz.,  three  sons  and  three  daughters  by  his  first  marriage ;  and 
one  son  and  two  daughters  by  his  second, — survived  him.  All 
are  still  living,  with  the  exception  of  one  daughter,  the  author's 
mother,  who  finished  her  earthly  career  in  1843,  having  lived 
a  life  of  unobtrusive  usefulness,  and  died  in  the  triumphs  of  faith. 

They  all  filled  stations  of  usefulness  and  respectability,  in  so- 
ciety as  well  as  in  the  church.  They  were  all  married,  and  all 
had  families;  and  the  promise  is  now  being  realized,  "My 
spirit  that  is  upon  thee,  and  my  words  which  I  have  put  in  thy 
mouth  shall  not  depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  out  of  the  mouth 
of  thy  seed,  nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed's  seed,  saith  the 


REV.    JAMES   MACQREGOR,   D.D.  609 

Lord,  from  henceforth  and  for  ever."  His  eldest  grand-son  has 
been  permitted  to  raise  this  monument  to  his  memory,  and  of 
his  other  grand-children,  the  majority  of  those  who  have  reached 
years  of  maturity,  arc  now  members  of  the  church,  and  there 
has  not  yet  been  one  black  sheep  in  all  the  flock.  May  we 
have  the  reader's  prayers  that  no  one  of  his  descendants  be 
either  filled  with  spiritual  pride,  saying,  "  We  have  Abraham 
to  our  father,"  or  increase  his  condemnation  by  despising  the 
exalted  privileges  with  which  we  have  been  favoured,  but  that 
wc  may  be  "mindful  always  of  his  covenant;  the  word  which 
he  commanded  to  a  thousand  generations." 
43* 


APPENDIX. 


Appendix  A. 

PETITION   FROM  PICTOU. 

To  the  Reverend,  the  Moderator  and  remanent  members  of  the  Presbytery 
of ,  to  meet  at  . 

The  Representation  and  Petition  of  us  a  Committee  appointed  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Pictou  in  the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  for  obtaining  a  min- 
ister of  the  Everlasting  Gospel, — Humbly  shewing: 

That,  for  nigh  twenty  years  past  since  the  first  settlers  came  to  Pictou, 
they  have  laboured  under  a  variety  of  hardships  and  difficulties,  which  it 
would  be  needless  here  to  mention  ;  but  which  our  Commissioners,  Messrs. 
John  Buchanan,  Senr.  and  John  Pagan,  are  pretty  well  acquainted  with. 
What  has  been  most  affecting  to  us  was  the  want  of  the  Gospel  and  ordi- 
nances thereof  dispensed  among  us  during  that  time.  For  though  the 
Philadelphia  Company  made  provision  for,  and  sent  a  minister,  viz.,  the 
Rev.  James  Lyon,  at  the  first  Settlement,  yet  he  did  not  continue  among 
us,  which  very  much  discouraged  the  people,  and  was  exceedingly  detri- 
mental to  the  settling  of  the  place;  and  though  we  have  had  sc^'eral  visits 
of  the  Rev.  Daniel  Cock,  of  Truro,  and  David  Smith,  of  Londonderry,  in 
our  neighbourhood  from  time  to  time,  yet  many,  very  many  silent  Sabbaths 
have  passed  over  our  heads  to  our  very  great  grief,  and  the  great  prejudice 
of  the  interest  of  religion,  especially  with  respect  to  a  numerous  young 
generation,  for  want  of  the  ordinary  means  of  grace  and  salvation ;  and 
though  the  settlement  of  the  place  has  met  with  a  variety  of  discourage- 
ments, and  back-sets  in  Holy  Providence,  yet  our  number  within  these 
few  years  by  past  is  very  considerably  increased,  and  is  daily  increasing, 
and  a  very  promising  prospect  of  yet  a  far  greater  increase,  occasioned  by  the 
happy  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  States  of  North  America. 

We  have  agreed  to  pay  to  the  minister  settled  among  us,  in  the  mean- 
time jC80  per  annum,  for  the  first  and  second  year  ;  jC90  per  annum,  for 
the  third  and  fourth  year,  and  thereafter  £100  currency,  that  is  £90  ster- 
ling, annually, — one-half  thereof  in  cash  and  the  other  in  produce;  and  if 
Providence  smile  upon  the  Settlement  and  our  industry,  we  hope  soon  to 
he  able  to  make  some  addition  to  that  sum.  Besides  we  have  agreed  to 
build  a  house  and  barn  for  the  minister,  and  that  he  shall  have  a  glebe 
Lot  of  land.  And,  also  that  we  shall  clear  so  much  of  it  from  time  to 
time  for  his  encouragement,  &c.  As  to  farther  information  that  the  mem- 
bers may  require,  our  Commissioners  can  satisfy  them. 

We  would,  therefore  earnestly  request  the  Presbytery,  in  the  bowels  of 

(511) 


512  APPENDIX. 

our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  alone  King'  and  Head  of  the  Church,  and  for 
his  sake, — for  the  advancement  of  liis  kingdom,  and  for  the  salvation  of 
precious  perishing  souls  in  this  wilderness — that  you  may  take  every  pro- 
per step  which  your  wisdom  may  point  forth  unto  you,  agreeable  to  the 
sacred  oracles,  to  send  us  with  all  convenient  speed  a  minister  to  labour  in 
word  and  doctrine  amongst  us — as  also  for  strengthening  the  hands  of  the 
few  ministers  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination  already  here — and  for 
some  farther  supply  of  several  other  vacant  congregations  and  desolate 
Corners  in  tiie  Province — who  are  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd  as  well 
as  ourselves,  and  who  are  frequently  asking  for  supply,  but  can  obtain  very 
little,  though  they  may  happily  be  encouraged,  if  we  succeed,  to  take  more 
vigorous  measures  to  obtain  ministers. 

That  he  who  has  the  stars  of  the  Churches  in  his  right  hand  may  di- 
rect you  to  a  proper  object,  and  put  it  in  his  heart  to  come  over  to  our  Mace- 
donia for  our  help;  that  the  Breaker  may  go  before  you  and  be  a  spirit 
of  judgment  unto  you  when  sitting  in  judgment,  and  with  his  eye  set  upon 
you  to  give  you  all  that  counsel  and  direction  that  may  be  necessary  in 
this  and  every  other  matter  that  may  come  before  you,  for  the  glory  of  his 
great  name  and  the  advancement  of  his  interest  and  kingdom,  is  the  sin- 
cere prayer  of  us  the  Committee  aforesaid. — Subscribed  by  us  lor  our- 
selves and  brethren  at  Pictou,  this  eighth  day  of  November,  1784. 

[Signed]  Robert  Patterson, 

John  Patterson, 
Robert  Marshall, 
William  Smitli, 
Donald  MacKay. 


Appendix  B. 

PETITION    TO   THE   PRESBYTERY   OF   PERTH. 

At  Greenock,  Qth  March,  1786. 

To  the  Reverend,  the  Moderator  and  remanent  members  of  the  Associate 
Presbytery  of  Perth,  to  meet  at  Perth  the  l^th  of  this  month. 

The  Representation  and  Petition  of  the  subscriber,  Commissioner  for 
the  inhabitants  of  Pictou,  Province  of  Nova  Scotia, — Humbly  sheweth  : 

That  the  inhabitants  of  Pictou,  emigrants  from  Scotland,  though  wil- 
ling and  able  to  support  the  Gospel,  are  in  a  destitute  condition,  through 
the  want  of  Gospel  ordinances  dispensed  among  them,  as  the  copy  of  the 
petition  of  their  Committee  hereto  prefixed  more  fully  narrates. 

That  it  is  necessary  that  the  minister  who  shall  be  missioned  to  them 
be  qualified  to  preach  in  the  English  and  Gaelic  languages,  as  many  of 
the  people  are  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 

That  your  petitioner  has  full  power  to  apply  to  any  Presbytery  or  other 
Presbyterian  Court,  for  having  a  Gospel  minister  regularly  missioned  to 
them. 

That,  besides  the  stipend  promised  by  the  people,  your  petitioner  is 
authorized  to  advance  from  jE30  to  .£40  Sterling  for  passage,  cabin-stores, 
and  other  incident  charges  that  may  be  necessary. 


APPENDIX.  513 

That  sundry  who  have  tlic  Gaelic  lanfjuagc  liave  offered  tlicmsclvcs 
but  as  he  is  well  informed  of  Mr.  James  Druniinond  MacGrcgor,  Proba- 
tioner, under  the  inspection  of  the  Reverend  Presbytery  of  Perth,  being  quali- 
fied for  preaciiing  ui  the  Gaelic  language,  and  that  he  is  one  who  is  hon- 
est and  faithful  in  adhering  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Westminster  Confession, 
and  the  system  of  Presbyterial  government  as  maintained  by  the  Churcli 
of  Scotland,  in  her  purest  times  ;  he  therefore  wishes  to  apply  to  the  Cvmrts 
of  tlie  Secession,  that  they  may  mission  him,  and  in  so  doing  he  thinks  he 
does  a  real  service  to  that  people,  and  that  he  does  his  best  to  fulfd  his 
commission. 

That  he  has  no  reason  to  suspect  one  from  the  Secession  will  be  disa- 
greeable to  them.  They  have  received  with  pleasure  some  from  the  otiier 
Sj'nod ;  he  believes  the  people  will  be  ready  to  receive  the  gospel  from 
him  as  their  minister,  and  though  it  will  require  time  and  much  labour 
for  instructing  that  people,  he  hopes  Mr.  MacGregor  will  find  much  com- 
fort in  bringing  them  forward  to  know  the  way  ot  God  more  perfectly. 

May  it  therefore  please  this  Reverend  Presbytery  to  mission  the  said 
Mr.  Jas.  Drummond  MacGregor  to  Pictou,  Nova  Scotia,  that  he  may  la- 
bour among  that  people,  agreeable  to  their  petition,  taking  all  due  steps 
towards  this,  that  he  may  be  ordained  and  sent  off  in  the  course  of  next 
summer. 

Or  if  this  Reverend  Presbytery  shall  not  judge  it  competent  for  them 
to  send  Mr.  MacGregor  as  a  missionary,  or  shall  think  it  reasonable  the 
superior  court  should,  if  Mr.  MacGregor,  who  has  been  brought  forward  to 
the  ministry  with  a  particular  view  to  the  preaching  of  Gaelic  in  Scotland 
can  be  spared  from  his  native  country  to  preach  the  same  language  to  his 
countrymen  in  America.  May  it  then  please  this  Reverend  Presbytery  to 
refer  tiie  whole  cause  to  the  Reverend,  the  Associate  Synod  at  their  next 
meeting,  and  to  require  Mr.  MacGregor's  attendance  at  said  meeting, 
if  they  shall  grant  a  reference  or  transmission  of  this  petition,  so  as 
this  mission  be  not  delayed  till  the  season  of  getting  a  passage  would 
be  lost. 

And  the  petitioner  engages  to  communicate  whatever  information  as  to 
particulars  the  Presbytery  may  require,  or  that  they  may  judge  proper 
Mr.  MacGregor  be  informed  of,  as  to  this  important  cause  as  to  himself 
and  that  people. 

And  begs  the  Reverend  Presbytery  will  excuse  his  absence  on  account 
of  the  distance  and  his  advanced  years,  and  that  the  other  Commissioner 
does  not  subscribe,  he  being  from  home,  and  the  Petitioner  not  willing  to 
lose  the  opportunity  of  presenting  this  petition  at  your  first  meeting. 

That  the  Great  Shepherd  may  direct  you  in  this  and  all  other  mat- 
ters coming  before  you,  is  the  sincere  desire  of 

Your  humble  Petitioner, 
[Signed,]  John  Pagan. 

These  certify  that  Mr.  John  Pagan,  the  subscriber  of  the  above  petition, 
is  of  a  respectable  character  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  an  Elder  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Gillies's  Session  at  Glasgow.  Since  his  coming  from  Glas- 
gow to  reside  here,  he  has  occasionally  officiated  in  one  of  the  Parishes  of 
Greenock.  And  (  he)  farther  testifies  that  the  copy  of  the  petition  from 
Pictou  on  the  first  and  second  pages  of  this  sheet  is  a  true  copy,  I  hav- 
ing  carefully  compared  it  with  the  original  petition.  Attested  at  Green- 
ock, this  nintii  day  of  March,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  six 
years. 

[Signed,]  John  Buist,  Minister. 


5U  APPENDIX. 


Appendix  C. 

EXTRACT  OF  THE  ORDINATION  OP  MR.  JAS.  DRUMMOND  MAC- 
GREGOR  ON  A  INIISSION  TO  PICTOU,  PROVINCE  OF  NOVA  SCO- 
TIA,  NORTH  AMERICA. 

At  Glasgow,  30^^  May,  1786. 

Which  day  and  place  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  met,  being 
constitute  with  prayer,  by  the  Rav.  Mr.  James  1'aylor,  Moderator,  pro 
tempore.  Present,  Messrs.  John  Jameson,  James  Alice,  John  Buist.  Wil- 
liam Jameson.  Andrew  Mitchell,  David  Somcrvail,  James  Ramsay,  James 
Grcig,  Andrew  Thomson,  James  Punton,  James  Robertson,  and  James 
Graham,  Ministers ;  with  John  Blair  from  Glasgow,  William  Allan,  from 
Paisley,  and  James  Hart,  from  Hamilton,  Ruling  Elders. 

There  was  given  in  the  following  extract  from  the  Associate  Synod,  viz., 
"  Minute  of  the  Associate  Synod,  respecting  the  mission  of  Mr.  Drumrnond 
MacGregor  to  Nova  Scotia. — Edinburgh,  4th  May  1786. 

"There  was  transmitted  by  the  Committee  of  Bills,  and  read,  a  refer- 
ence from  the  Presbytery  of  Perth,  of  a  petition  subscribed  by  Mr.  John 
Pagan,  as  a  commissioner  empowered  by  some  people  settled  in  Pietou.  in 
the  Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  to  obtain  a  minister  ibr  them  to  preach  the 
Gospel  among  them,  in  which  some  brethren  represented  that  i\Ir.  John 
Buchanan,  the  other  Commissioner,  concurred,  though  he  had  not  subscribed 
it  through  being  absent  at  that  time. — craving  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
James  Drummond  MacGregor,  on  a  mission  for  that  purpose,  as,  under- 
standing that  he  was  capable  of  preaching  in  the  Gaelic  as  well  as  the  En- 
glish language,  for  which  there  was  a  necessity  at  that  place :  also,  of  a 
petition  subscribed  by  five  members  of  a  Committee  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Pietou,  viz.,  Messrs.  Robert  Patterson,  John  Patterson,  Robert  Marshall, 
William  Smith,  and  Donald  MacKay,  transmitted  by  them  to  Messrs. 
Jonn  Buchanan  and  John  Pagan,  craving  that  a  minister  might  be  sent 
over  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them,  promising  a  sum  of  money  therein 
specified  yearly  for  his  subsistence.  Both  these  petitions  were  read, — a 
considerable  time  was  then  spent  in  conversation  together,  and  with  Mr. 
MacGregor  on  the  subject,  and  the  question  was  agreed  to  be  put:  Grant 
the  said  petition  and  appoint  Mr.  MacGregor  accordingly.  After  prayer 
for  the  Lord's  countenance  in  the  matter,  the  roll  being  called  and  votes 
marked,  it  carried  unanimously,  grant  and  appoint,  like  as  the  Synod  did, 
and  hereby  do  appoint  Mr.  James  Drummond  MacGregor,  on  the  said 
mission  accordingly.  They  excused  Mr.  MacGregor  from  all  appoint- 
ments he  is  lying  under  in  the  Presbytery  of  Perth,  except  the  ensuing 
Sabbath,  transmitted  him  to  the  Presbytery  of  Glasgow,  appointed  him  to 
deliver  a  lecture  on  Matt,  xxviii.  1!),  20  verses,  a  popular  sermon  on  the  last 
clause  of  verse  20,  an  Exegesis  on  the  following  question,  viz., — An  Chris- 
tus  sit  Deus,  to  give  account  of  the  first  half  of  the  first  century  of  Church 
History ;  to  read  the  first  Psahn  in  Hebrew,  and  the  Greek  Testament  ad 
aperiuram  libri,  before  the  said  Presbytery,  against  the  last  Tuesday  of  this 
month  at  Glasgow ;  at  which  time  the  Synod  appointed  the  Presbytery  of 
Glasgow  to  hold  their  next  ordinary  meeting,  and  they  appointed  that  on 
the  Presbytery  being  satisfied  with  I\Ir.  MacGregor's  trials,  they  take  the 
first  opportunity  to  ordain  him  to  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry,  and  that 


APPENDIX.  515 

Mr.  MacGrc^or  take  the  first  opportunit)'  afterwards  of  setting  off  for  Pic- 
tou,  in  Nova  Scotia,  to  exercise  liis  ministry  among  tliat  people,  ui)on 
which  Mr.  Btiist  in  name  of  the  Commissioners  took  instruments  in  the 
clerk's  liands  and  craved  extracts." — (  Extracted.) 

[Signed,]  Jas.  Monson,  Si/nod  Clerk. 

Mr.  James  Drummond  MaeOregor  delivered  his  Lecture  and  Popular 
Sermon  from  t!ie  siil)jects  assigned  him,  which  the  Presbytery  sustained 
as  part  of  trials  for  ordination. 

Eodem  die  ct  loco,  Ilora  2da,  P.  M.,  Sederunt  ut  supra.  Proceeded  to 
take  Mr.  Mac(j!rcgor's  private  trials.  He  delivered  his  Exegesis,  defi-^ndod 
his  Thesis,  read  tlie  first  Psalm  in  Hebrew,  the  Greek  Testament  ad  aper- 
turam  libri,  gave  an  account  of  the  first  half  of  the  first  century  of  Church 
History,  answered  extempore  questions.  The  question  was  put.  Approve 
of  the  trials  delivered  in  view  of  ordination  in  cumulo  or  not,  the  roll  called 
and  votes  marked;  it  carried  unanimously, — ap])roved. 

It  was  reported  that  a  vessel  is  expected  to  sail  this  week  for  Hulifax, 
and  no  other  opportunity  expected  tiiis  season,  therefore  moved  that  the 
Presbytery  shall  proceed  to  the  ordination,  to-morrow.  The  question  was 
jiut, — Proceed  to  the  ordination  or  not;  a  brother  being  engaged  in  prayer, 
the  roll  called  and  votes  marked,^it  carried, — proceed  to  the  ordination. 
Appointed  Mr.  Robertson  to  preside  in  the  ordination,  Mr.  Graham  to  be- 
gin with  prayer,  Mr.  James  Greig  to  preach  after  the  ordination  in  the 
Session  House,  at  Glasgow,  31st  of  May,  178G. 

Which  day  and  place  the  Associate  Presbytery  of  Glasgow  met,  being 
constitute  with  prayer,  by  Mr.  James  Robertson,  Moderator.  Present, 
Messrs.  John  Jameson,  James  Alice,  John  Buist,  William  Jameson, An- 
drew Mitchell,  David  Somervail,  James  Ramsay,  James  Greig,  James 
Punton,  James  Taylor,  and  James  Graham,  Ministers;  with  John  Blair, 
from  Glasgow,  William  Allan,  from  Paisley,  and  Thos.  Hart,  from  Hamil- 
ton, Ruling  Elders. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  JoJm  Stewart,  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Stirling, 
being  present,  took  his  scat. 

By  order  of  the  Presbytery,  Andrew  Alison  served  the  Edict,  calling 
thrice  publicly  any  who  had  any  thing  to  object  against  the  doctrine,  life, 
or  conversation  of  Mr.  James  Drummond  MacGregor,  why  he  may  not  be 
ordained,  tliat  they  compear  beibre  the  Presbytery,  to  give  in  tlieir  objec- 
tions, or,  that  the  Presbytery  would  proceed  immediately  to  the  ordination. 
He  having  returned  the  Edict,  the  Presbytery  went  to  the  church.*  The 
Rloderator  preached  a  sermon  from  Isaiah,  chap.  60,  verse  9.  A(\er  ser- 
mon, and  account  given  of  tlie  Mission  of  Mr.  MacGregor,  the  questions 
usually  ])ut  to  ministers  at  their  ordination,  and  a  question  as  to  his  ac- 
cepting of  and  closing  with  this  mission,  and  his  performing  Ministerial 
duties  to  the  people  at  Pictou,  were  put  to  Mr.  MacGregor,  and  he  having 
answered  them  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Presbytery,  after  praise,  the  Pres- 
bytery with  prayer  and  imposition  of  hands,  did  solemnly  ordain  Mr. 
James  Drummond  MacGregor  to  the  office  of  the  holy  ministry,  on  a  mis- 
sion to  Pictou,  in  Nova  Scotia.  Thereafter  the  righthand  of  fellowsliip 
w;is  given  him  by  the  bretlu'en  of  the  Presbytery,  and  the  Moderator  hav- 
ing addressed  him  in  some  exhortations,  tlie  public  work  was  coneludi-d, 
witli  a  sermon  by  Mr.  James  Greig,  from  Acts,  chap.  2f),  vcr.^o  17,  and 
first  clause  of  the  18th  verse.  The  Presbytery  having  returned  to  the  Ses- 
pion  House,  Mr.  MacGregor  declared  his  willingness  to  subscribe  his  an- 

*  Mr.  Graham  began  with  praise  aud  prayer. 


516  APPENDIX. 

Bwers  to  the  questions  put  to  him  when  required,  and  took  his  Beat  in 
Presbytery. 

Mr.  Thomson,  the  clerk,  having-  gone  home  to  the  fast  in  his  congrega- 
tion, beibrc  tlie  sacrament;  the  Presbytery  directed  Mr.  Buist,  their  clerk, 
pro  tempore,  to  extract  the  minute  of  Mr.  MacGrcgor's  ordination,  to  be 
sent  along  with  him. 

Tills  and  three  preceding  pages,  having  a  marginal  note  on  the  third 
page,  extracted  by 

John  Buist,  Presbytery  Clerk,  pro  tern. 


Appendix  D. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  document  on  record  in  the  Registry  Office 
in  Pictou. 

"  Know  all  men  by  these  presents  that  I,  Archibald  Allardiee,  of  the 
Province  of  Nova  Scotia,  mariner,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of 
fjrty  pounds  currency  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  Dr.  John  Harris,  of  Truro, 
have  made  over,  and  sold,  and  bargained,  and  by  these  presents  do  bargain, 
make  over,  and  sell  to  the  aforesaid  Doctor  JoJm  Harris,  one  negro  mart 
named  Sambo,  aged  tivcnty-five  years  or  thereabouts,  and  also  one  brown 
mare,  and  her  colt  now  sucking.  To  have  and  to  hold  the  said  negro  vian 
and  mare  with  her  colt,  as  his  property,  for  and  in  security  of  tiie  above 
sum  of  money  until  paid  with  lawful  interest.  And  at  the  payment  of  the 
above  mentioned  sum  witli  interest  and  expenses,  tlie  aforesaid  Doctor 
John  Harris  is  by  these  presents  firmly  bound  to  deliver  up  to  the  afore- 
said Archibald  Allardiee,  the  said  negro  man,  named  Sambo,  with  the  mare 
and  colt  (casualties  execi)te(l).  But  if  the  said  negro  man,  mare,  or  colt, 
should  die  before  the  said  money  should  be  paid,  then  in  such  proportion, 
I,  the  said  Archibald  Allardiee,  promise  to  make  good  the  deficiency  to  the 
said  Doctor  Jolin  Harris.  In  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my 
han,d  and  seal,  this  tenth  day  of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  eighty-six,  and  in  tiie  twenty-sixth  of  our  Sove- 
reign Lord,  George  the  Third's,  Reign. 

Archibald  Allardiee,     l.  s. 
Signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  in  presence  of 
James  Phillips, 
Robert  Dunn. 

Truro,  August  26th,  178G,  Recorded  on  the  oath  of  James  Phillips. 

John  Harris,  D.  R. 

Along  the  margin  the  following  words  were  written.  "  Assignment  to 
Thomas  Harris,  20th  day  of  April,  1791." 

per  John  Harris,  D.  R. 


APPENDIX.  517 


Appendix  E. 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  MliNISTERS  OF  THE  ASSOCIATE  PRESBY- 
TERY OF  NOVA  SCOTIA,  TO  THE  GENERAL  ASSOCIATE 
SYNOD. 

FwTOV,Feb.  5,  1799. 

Rev.  Fathers  and  Brethren — Moved,  we  hope,  with  zeal  for  the  g;lory 
of  God,  and  concern  for  the  salvation  of  our  follow  creatures,  we  beg-  leave 
to  intreat  you  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  this  country,  and  to  second  by  our 
influence  with  you,  the  applications  made  to  you  from  several  congrega- 
tions here,  that  you  would  send  to  them  ministers  of  the  gospel  to  feed 
their  souls.  They  have  great  need  of  gospel  ministers.  There  are  many 
people  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  Provinces,  wlio  are  now  and  liave,  (or 
a  long  time,  been  without  the  gospel.  Many  of  the  young  generation 
liave  never  heard  its  joyful  sound.  There  are  many  infant  settlements  so 
weak,  that  they  cannot  support  a  fixed  dispensation  thereof,  who  earnestly 
desire  occasional  supplies;  many  others  are  able  and  willing,  but  all  their 
endeavours  to  obtain  it  have  hitherto  been  in  vain.  You  have  some  young 
men  under  your  inspection,  who  might  come  over  and  preach  to  some  of 
tliese  people ;  and  sure  it  is  their  duty  to  come.  It  is  a  most  grievous 
thing  to  think  of  their  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge,  while  there  is  a 
possibility  of  giving  them  the  moans  of  knowledge,  every  one  ought  to 
pity  and  help  tliem  to  the  utmost.  We  do  what  we  can,  but  our  labours 
Cannot  be  much  felt  in  such  an  extensive  circle.  Tliere  is  a  necessity  for 
more  hands  to  be  employed  in  the  work.  The  work  is  the  most  honour- 
able, pleasant,  and  profitable,  in  which  any  one  can  be  employed;  and  it 
is  astonishing  that  any  who  are  called  to  it,  should  not  engage  in  it  with 
some  degree  of  the  zeal  of  tlie  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  disregard 
every  difficulty  and  opposition  in  the  way.  What  should  ministers  tear 
in  the  work  of  Christ  ?  How  grievous  then  is  it,  that  there  is  a  necessity 
of  pressing  them  to  it  by  all  sorts  of  arguments,  and  that  all  will  not  do  ! 

This  is  an  age  in  which  there  appears  a  great  deal  of  zeal  for  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  gospel  among  the  Heathen.  An  equal  zeal  for  its  pro- 
pagation among  those  who  have  little  or  nothing  of  Christianity  but  the 
name,  is  no  less  necessary,  and  the  work  is  far  less  arduous.  Tiiosc  who 
have  never  heard  of  the  name  of  Jesus,  are  not  the  only  people  who 
have  need  of  hearing  the  gospel.  There  arc  many  people  here  who  have 
heard  of  Christ,  who  have  Bibles,  and  who  have  sometimes  heard  the 
gospel  preached,  who  yet  may  be  said  to  be  in  a  perishing  situation  for 
want  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  whose  case  calls  as  loud  for  iiclp  as  that  of 
the  heatiiens.  It  is  as  really  duty  to  provide  for  those  as  tlicse.  Many 
publications  have  appeared  of  late  in  various  forms,  urging  by  every 
imaginable  argument  the  duty  of  ministers  to  go  to  the  iieathen.  Though 
we  cannot  plead  the  cause  of  the  people  here  so  eloquently  as  tiicy,  nor 
make  use  of  language  so  affecting,  yet  we  beg  leave  to  say,  that  there  is 
no  argument  in  these  publications  which  will  not  conclude  in  tiieir  favour 
witli  equal  propriety.  We  beg  you  therefore  to  think  of  them  when  you 
read  these  publications,  and  we  earnestly  wish  the  young  men  preparing 
for  the  ministry  to  do  so, 
44 


51 8  .  APPENDIX. 

But  there  are  some  things  more  favourable  in  the  case  of  the  people 
here  than  in  that  of  the  heathen,  at  least  in  the  estimate  of  flesh  and  blood  ; 
and  were  not  these  counted  upon,  there  would  be  no  need  of  this  ad- 
dress. Surely  it  is  not  such  a  hardship  for  ininisters  to  go  to  the  nearest 
parts  of  America,  not  beyond  our  own  dominions,  to  a  civilized  country, 
where  they  iiave  countrymen  and  friends  before  tliem,  and  to  a  people 
sensible  of  their  need  of  ministers,  and  earnestly  desirous  of  them,  as  it  is 
to  go  a  long  voyage  (to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  for  example),  far  beyond  the 
British  dominions,  to  an  unknown  country,  and  to  a  people  uncivihzed  and 
insensible  of  the  value  of  ministers.  If  there  are  men  found  willing  to 
go  through  these  greater  hardships,  wc  hope  there  will  not  be  wanting 
some  willing  to  go  through  tlie  less;  though  with  heart-felt  sorrow  we 
have  long  observed  tlieir  backwardness. 

It  is  about  ten  years  since  the  people  of  Amherst  sent  you  a  petition 
for  a  minister.  The  subscribers  were  not  numerous,  but  they  were  mostly 
men  of  sense  and  piety.  It  was  the  superior  confidence  they  ])laeed  in 
you,  tlwt  induced  them  to  apply  to  you ;  and  every  year  since  they  ex- 
pected an  answer,  though  their  hopes  grew  fainter  the  longer  they  waited. 
They  gave  a  call  to  Mr.  Brown  very  soon  after  his  arrival  in  this  Pro- 
vince ;  and  had  he  been  left  to  his  own  choice,  there  is  little  reason 
to  doubt  that  he  would  have  preferred  them  to  the  people  among  whom 
the  Presbytery  appointed  him,  though  he  was  not  dissatisfied  with  their 
appointment.  Delay  and  disappointment  discouraged  them,  several  of 
them  sold  their  possessions,  and  removed  to  other  places  of  the  Province, 
and  to  the  United  States,  wiiere  they  could  find  tlie  gospel.  Others  are 
removed  by  death ;  so  that  few  of  the  subscribers  are  now  in  Amherst. 
Those  who  have  come  in  tlicir  places,  especially  the  young  generation, 
having  little  acquaintance  with  gospel  doctrines,  and  being  hopeless  of 
any  relief  from  you,  have  now  bargained  with  a  minister  whom  chance 
threw  in  their  way,  and  of  which  they  may  repent  ere  long.  Amherst  is 
grown  to  be  a  populous  place,  and  had  you  sent  a  minister  to  it,  it  might  now 
have  been  a  flourishing  congregation  ;  whereas  it  has  been  ten  years  with- 
out the  gospel,  after  applying  to  you  for  it,  and  they  are  perhaps  badly  pro- 
vided for  at  last.  To  other  places  who  observe  the  bad  success  of  Amherst, 
what  a  great  discouragement  is  this  ! 

About  seven  years  ago,  the  people  of  Prineetown,  and  Stanhope,  and 
St.  Peter's  in  the  island  of  St.  John,  applied  to  you  for  two  ministers,  and 
they  have  waited  ever  since  with  patience  (or  rather  impatience),  fre- 
quently inquiring  if  tliere  was  any  hope  of  a  speedy  answer  to  their  pe- 
titions.  For  a  number  of  years  we  returned  for  answer,  that  ministers 
might  soon  be  expected;  but  we  are  asliamed  to  give  tliem  that  answer 
any  longer,  and  now  we  know  not  what  to  say.  That  people  stand  in 
need  of  the  gospel  almost  as  much  as  any  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ; 
for  beside  all  other  considerations,  their  being  in  an  island  prevents  them 
from  having  so  ready  access  to  other  means  of  knowledge  as  if  they  were 
on  the  Continent;  and  they  are  surrounded  with  Papists,  who  have  always 
one  or  more  priests  among  tiiem,  who  use  all  their  dexterity  in  making 
converts,  especially  among  the  young  generation.  There  are  in  the 
island  of  St.  Jolm,  eight  or  ten  other  settlements  that  would  require  sup- 
ply of  sermon,  being  yet  so  weak,  that  they  cannot  support  ministers  for 
themselves.  It  is  a  great  trial  of  patience,  to  wait  seven  years  for  a  min- 
ister, and  to  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  gospel  for  two  or  three 
Sabb'iths  only  during  all  that  time.  There  are  good  Christians  in  the 
island  of  St.  .John,  who,  in  all  probability,  have  not  heard  five  sermons  these 
twenty-five   years;  and   probably  there  are   some  there  twenty-five  years 


APPENDIX.  519 

old  who  never  heard  a  sermon  !  Who  would  not  compassionate  this  peo- 
pic?  We  hope  two  ministers  would  be  very  agreeably  situated  among 
them,  and  in  a  short  time  there  would  be  a  demand  for  a  number  more. 
We  earnestly  beseech  the  Synod  to  consider  the  case  of  tiiis  island,  and 
to  send  over  two  ministers  to  them  as  soon  as  possible. 

Tiic  ])cop!e  of  Douglas,  in  this  Province,  were  tiie  next  to  petition  you 
for  a  minister.  Tiiis  congregation  is  very  ibrward  and  eager  to  obtain  the 
gospel,  but  withal  impatient  of  delay ;  so  that  there  is  danger,  as  they  are 
not  sufficiently  aware  of  the  evil  of  error,  that  they  will  not  wait  so  long 
as  you  would  wish  or  expect,  but,  being  wearied  out,  will  apply  to  some 
other  quarter  for  that  help  which  they  will  give  over  hoping  for  from 
you.  A  part  of  this  congregation  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  Mr. 
Brown  occasionally,  as  there  is  but  a  few  miles  of  water  between  them 
and  his  congregation;  but  this  seems  only  to  make  them  more  eager  to 
have  a  minister  of  their  own.  There  is  therefore  special  need  for  the 
Synod  to  consider  the  case  of  this  people,  and  grant  their  petition. 
Tiiough  the  people  of  Mirimichi,  in  New  Brunswick,  be  last  in  their  ap- 
plication, yet  they  themselves  consider  their  case  as  so  deplorable  above 
others,  especially  on  account  of  the  breaking  dispensations  they  have  met 
with,  that  they  are  entitled  to  be  first  answered.  And  indeed  it  is  hard  to 
deny  their  claim. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  which  of  these  four  places  is  most  in  need.  But  if 
the  Synod  cannot  supply  them  all  at  once,  let  some  of  them  be  supplied, 
and  the  rest  as  soon  after  as  possible,  if  they  shall  wait. 

The  people  of  Cape  Breton  petitioned  the  Session  of  Pictou,  before  our 
erection  into  a  Presbytery,  to  appoint  their  minister  to  pay  them  a  visit 
to  preach  the  gospel  to  them,  and  to  give  them  advice  and  direction 
how  to  obtain  a  minister  for  themselves.  The  petition  was  granted,  but 
the  visit  could  not  be  paid  till  August  last ;  partly  because  so  few  of 
them  were  desirous  of  the  gospel,  (the  generality  being  lukewarm),  that 
they  could  scarcely  support  it;  and  partly  because  there  was  no  hope 
of  getting  their  petition  granted  for  a  long  time,  through  the  backward- 
ness of  ministers  to  come  out ;  and  because  so  many  other  places  were 
entitled  to  be  supplied  before  them,  they  were  advised  to  delay  sending 
home  their  petition  for  some  time.  But  had  they  a  minister,  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  he  would  soon  form  a  congregation ;  for  the  gospel 
would  be  a  new  thing  to  them,  and,  through  the  divine  blessing,  would 
run  as  it  did  among  the  Gentiles  at  first.  Were  there  a  minister  there, 
application  would  soon  be  made  to  him  from  Newfoundland,  and  other 
places.  In  all  appearance,  nothing  but  the  want  of  ministers  prevents  the 
gospel  from  spreading  rapidly  through  this  Province,  New  Brunswick, 
part  of  both  the  Canadas,  island  St.  John,  Cape  Breton,  Newfoundland, 
«fec.  Had  ministers  been  forward  to  come  to  our  assistance  since  the  first 
of  us  arrived  here,  the  gospel  would  have  been  already  spread  considerably 
through  these  countries. 

We  wish  the  Synod  to  advert  to  the  growing  population  of  this  coun- 
try.  Places  that  were  not  capable  to  maintain  the  gospel  a  few  years  ago, 
are  now  able  ;  places  that  are  not  now  able,  will  be  so  soon.  Pictou  is  now 
more  capable  to  maintain  four  ministers,  than  they  were  to  maintain  one 
when  they  sent  their  first  petition  to  you.  It  may  be  a  presbytery  instead 
of  a  congregation,  before  the  present  generation  be  gone.  There  is  within 
twenty  miles  of  Pictou,  a  new  settlement  almost  capable  to  maintain  a 
minister,  where,  fifteen  years  ago,  there  was  not  a  single  inhabitant. 
The  country  in  general  peoples  fast ;  for  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  eight 
or  ten  children  in  a  family  grown  up  to  be  heads  of  families  themselves ; 


520  APPENDIX. 

for  the  case  is  not  here  as  at  home,  that  the  greater  part  die  in  infancy. 
Besides,  in  times  of  peace,  there  are  frrcat  accessions  from  other  places. 
Hence  you  may  see  the  importance  of  planting  congregations  in  this  coun- 
try, and  that  there  will  always  be  an  increasing  demand  for  ministers. 

If  the  Synod  thinks  tliat  more  money  should  have  been  sent  home  to 
pay  for  their  passage,  we  answer,  Wc  have  not  the  face  to  bid  the  people 
advance  more  monc}' ;  for  as  matters  stand  at  present,  it  would  look  like 
as  if  wc  were  asking  it  for  ourselves.  Douglas  advanced  money,  Fra- 
ser,  Thom,  and  Co.,  respectable  merchants  in  Miriniiclii,  ])romised  to 
write  to  Hunter  and  Co.,  Greenock,  to  answer  the  order  of  tlie  Kev. 
James  Robertson,  Kilmarnock,  for  the  passage  of  the  minister  to  that 
place;  and  we  suppose  he  has  perlbrmed  it,  or,  if  not,  it  will  be  done  be- 
fore the  passage  be  long  due.  None  of  us  have  been  in  the  island  of  St. 
John  these  four  years  past,  and  we  know  not  the  present  sentiments  of  the 
people  there,  save  only  that  they  are  still  waiting  for  the  ministers ;  but 
when  they  wrote  the  petitions,  they  laid  tlieir  account  with  paying  the 
passage  of  the  ministers.  Besides,  Lord  Montgomery's  agent  there  had 
then  power  (and  we  suppose  has  it  still)  to  pay  the  passage  of  the  first 
Presbyterian  minister  who  should  come  to  the  island.  Could  we  give 
people  some  assurance  of  getting  a  minister  the  first  or  second  year  after 
sending  home  their  petition,  they  could  easily  be  prevailed  upon  to  col- 
lect the  money  beforehand ;  but  they  cannot  be  much  to  blame  for  a 
backwardness,  while  their  prospect  of  an  answer  is  so  distant  and  uncer- 
tain. 

We  apprehend  there  is  more  need  than  you  or  we  have  been  aware  of, 
for  fervent  addresses  to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  forlh  labourers  to 
his  harvest.  The  sending  forth  of  ministers  is  a  matter  of  the  greatest 
importance,  and  demands  much  prayer.  Our  blessed  Master,  previous  to 
his  sending  forth  the  apostles,  both  exhorted  his  disciples  to  pray  to  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest,  and  continued  himself  all  night  in  prayer  to  God. 
We  doubt  not  but  we  have  more  need  to  stir  up  ourselves  and  our  people, 
than  you  and  your  people,  to  this  duty.  Yet  the  more  that  you  and  the 
people  under  your  charge  abound  in  tliis  duty,  the  sooner  may  we  expect 
the  answer  of  our  suit.  Perhaps  it  might  not  be  improper  for  the  Synod 
to  cause  an  address  to  be  drawn  up,  and  circulated  among  the  preachers 
under  their  inspection,  calculated  to  impress  upon  their  consciences  the 
obligation  they  are  under  to  obey  calls  from  foreign  parts,  especially  such 
calls  as  have  been  lying  a  number  of  years  before  the  Synod  unanswered. 
But  tliis  we  leave  to  the  wisdom  of  the  Synod.  We  beseech  you  to  exert 
yourselves  in  behalf  of  the  people  here.  And  we  pray  the  Great  Shep- 
herd  of  the  sheep  to  prosper  all  your  efforts  for  his  glory  and  the  good  of 
the  Church. 

James  MacGregor 
Duncan  Ross, 
John  Brown. 


APPENDIX.  521 


Appendix  F. 


HISTOKY    or    ST.    JAMES. 

( From  the  Colonial  Fresbyterian.) 

On  the  16th  May,  1803,  wc  bade  adieu  to  all  that  was  dear  to  us  in  As- 
synt  and  Edcrachilis, — two  parishes  in  Sutherlandshirc,  Scotland.  VVc 
sailed  for  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  with  clear  sky  and  liiir  wind, 
which  soon  made  the  land  of  birth  look  small  to  us.  The  godly  Niel 
Morrison,  whose  praise  was  in  the  churches  at  home,  being  one  of  us,  be- 
fore sunset,  called  the  passengers  below  to  worship  God.  We  sung  a 
portion  of  the  45th  psalm  : 

O  daughter,  hearken  and  regard, 
And  do  thine  ear  incline  ; 

Likewise  forget  thy  father's  house 
And  people  that  are  tiiine. 
Then  read  a  chapter  and  prayed  :  this  practice  was  continued  invariably 
during  a  passage  of  twelve  weeks.  The  different  heads  of  families  prayed 
in  their  turn.  Every  Sabbath  a  sermon  was  read  on  deck.  Beating  against 
head  winds  on  half  allowance,  we  were  at  last  getting  tired — spoke  a  ship 
and  learned  that  the  yellow  fever  was  raging  in  New  York  and  Southern 
States.  We  protested  against  going  any  farther  Soutli,  and  arrived  in 
Boston  16th  of  August.  The  wharf  was  thronged  by  gentlemen  and  la- 
dies from  morning  till  night,  eager  to  employ  the  young  of  both  sexes. 
Men  with  families  were  kindly  treated  by  gentlemen  looking  out  dwellings 
for  them.  Five  families  went  to  Carolina,  expecting  their  friends  there 
would  help  them,  but  found  them  no  more  than  able  to  help  themselves. 
The  rest  heard  of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Kennebeck,  State  of  Maine. 
They  embarked  for  Thomaston,  but  on  arrival  found  terms  did  not  suit. 
Had  to  winter  there,  being  late  in  the  season.  Being  informed  of  vacant 
crown  land  on  the  Schoodic  river,  they  embarked  in  Spring  and  soon  found 
tliemselves  once  more  on  British  ground.  At  that  time  no  land  was 
thought  worth  accepting  save  hard-wood  land,  and  as  they  were  deter 
mined  if  possible  to  settle  together,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  could  not 
be  found  nearer  than  the  Chiputneticook  Ridges.  The  land  was  exam- 
ined by  the  assistance  of  a  guide  and  pleased  well,  but  on  returning  from 
it,  it  was  ascertained  that  there  were  three  claimants  for  it.  Sadly  disap- 
pointed and  bordering  on  despair,  they  were  told  of  a  large  tract  of  land 
back  of  Digby,  N.  S.  Embarked  for  Digby — making  the  third  passage 
since  landing  in  Boston.  Again  they  were  disappointed  ;  the  land  was 
taken  up  in  blocks  by  rich  men,  and  with  their  purses  empty  they  could 
not  locate  themselves  together  in  that  place.  Three  families  settled  at 
Bread  Cove.  The  rest  were  faint  yet  pursuing.  They  paused  at  Annapo- 
li.s  Bay,  not  knowing  what  was  in  the  wheel  of  Providence  for  them. 
Most  of  the  men  of  wealth  in  St.  Andrews  were  Scotch.  When  they 
heard  of  the  immigrants'  departure  from  N.  B.  they  were  very  angry  ;  hired 
a  schooner  and  sent  her  afiter  them  at  their  own  expense,  and  brought 
them  back  to  St,  Stephen.  They  built  quite  a  little  village  of  log  houses 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  until  they  could  do  better,  A  remonstrance  ac- 
companied by  Petition,  was  sent  to  Fredericton.  No  decisive  answer  had 
been  given  to  the  Petition  until  the  House  of  Assembly  met.  The  late 
44* 


522  APPENDIX. 

Ninian  Lindsay,  Esq.,  was  one  of  the  members  from  Charlotte  at  that 
lime.  Arriving  in  l-'redericton  his  first  push  was  towards  Government 
House,  and  laying  the  case  plainly  before  tiic  Governor,  he  said  the  im- 
migrants must  have  the  land  petitioned  ibr.  Tiicre  were  three  ciaimanls 
to  tlie  land.  Tlie  hitc  Josepli  Porter  was  one  of  them,  and  his  first  act  of 
kindness  to  the  settlers  was  the  surrender  of  his  claim  for  their  sukes. 
Tlie  others  adhered  to  tlie  claim.  However,  the  late  Donald  MacDonald, 
Esq.,  being  a  real  Highlander,  a  Lawyer,  and  a  Crown  Land  Surveyor, 
obtained  an  order  of  survey.  Heading  his  Highland  crew  to  the  spot,  he 
built  a  camp  outside  of  Mark's  grant.  The  two  claimants  appeared  and 
forbade  his  proceeding  any  further.  He  told  them  to  mind  their  own 
business,  and  he  would  mind  his.  He  had  his  orders  and  he  would  exe- 
cute them.  The  survey  was  made,  and  lots  east  who  should  be  served 
first.  They  then  proceeded  with  the  distribution.  In  laying  out  the 
Scotch  Ridge  a  quantity  of  200  acres  was  allowed  to  husband  and  wife, 
and  50  acres  for  every  child.  The  late  Benjamin  Pomroy,  who  had  four 
sons  married,  and  two  sons  in  law,  natives,  obtained  an  order  of  survey  on 
a  ridge  one  mile  West  of  it — the  present  Pomroy  Ridge.  T)ie  immi- 
grants wrote  to  their  friends  who  stayed  beliind,  ( in  the  States  and  Nova 
Scotia,)  how  they  fared  at  last.  This  intelligence  brought  them  along, 
and  they  got  land  on  the  Basswood  Ridge,  two  miles  East,  and  on  the  Lit- 
tle Ridge,  three  miles  West,  bounded  by  the  St.  Croix.  But  then  they 
were  discontented  as  they  could  not  be  together.  Three  miles  through 
thick  woods  was  too  great  a  distance  to  admit  of  their  being  neighbours, 
and  so  the  men  of  the  Scotch  Ridge  changed  with  them  one  hundred  acres 
on  the  Scotch  Ridge  for  one  hundred  acres  on  the  Little  Ridge.  Now 
they  were  happy.  They  then  spotted  a  line  of  road,  shunning  every 
swamp,  cutting  under-brush  only;  built  a  large  camp  to  eat  and  sleep  to- 
gether until  each  would  have  a  spot  clear  to  build  a  house  and  plant  pota- 
toes. They  worked  together  in  crews,  doing  equal  justice  to  each  individual. 
One  week  they  worked  at  St.  Stepheii  and  Calais,  earning  supplies  for 
the  following  one.  Having  obtained  these  they  would  start  on  Monday 
morning  with  their  heavy  packs  carrying  them  full  12  miles.  They  con- 
tinued this  plan  during  the  Fall  of  1804,  and  Spring  and  Summer  of  1805. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  the  late  Joseph  Porter  and  Colin  Campbell,  Esqrs., 
endeared  themselves  to  the  immigrants  by  many  acts  of  kindness.  They 
both  had  stores,  and  whatever  the  settlers  wanted  they  could  have  for  la- 
bour,  or  otherwise  whenever  they  got  able.  And  seldf)m  would  they  em- 
ploy any  other  tlian  the  immigrants.  In  the  Fall  of  1805  they  moved  into 
the  wilderness,  carrying  their  children  on  their  backs,  and  their  various 
necessaries,  such  as  they  had,  in  the  same  way  as  they  had  long  done. 
They  found  an  excellent  crop  of  their  own  planting  for  digging.  But  they 
could  nut  forget  that  the  Israelites  were  guided  in  the  wilderness  by  a  pil- 
lar of  cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  so  when  the  Sabbath  came 
they  all  met  in  one  house.  The  master  of  the  house  commenced  the  wor- 
ship of  God  by  singing,  reading  a  chapter  and  prayer.  Then  sung  and 
read  a  sermon  ;  and  concluded  by  singing  and  prayer  by  one  of  the  hearers. 
Then  they  agreed  to  keep  one  day  in  a  fortnight  as  a  question  day.  These 
questions  would  be  similar  to  the  following.  After  singing,  reading  a 
chapter  and  prayer,  the  leader  would  ask  if  any  one  had  a  word  working 
in  his  mind  that  he  would  like  to  hear  the  brethren  upon.  One  would  an- 
swer. The  apostle  says,  "I  bear  tliem  record  that  they  have  a  zeal  of  God, 
but  not  according  to  knowledge."  I  would  wish  to  hear  some  distinguish- 
ing marks  between  the  man  whose  zeal  is  according  to  knowledge,  and 
whose  zeal  is  not,  as  God  may  reveal  it  to  your  own  souls.     The  leader 


APPENDIX.  523 

would  call  on  them  one  after  another,  and  some  would  have  such  utter- 
ance ffivfii  thcni,  that  all  could  not  speak  in  one  day.  There  would  be  at 
least  tlirec  prayers.  This  was  continued  so  long'  as  we  were  as  sheep 
without  a  shepherd.  Tlie  godly  Nicl  Morrison  lieard  of  the  success  of 
his  llllow  passengers,  and  soon  rejoined  them.  Also  five  of  the  families 
that  went  to  Carolina  made  their  appearance.  Mr.  Morrison  used  to  take 
every  alternate  day  in  leading  worship. 

In  tlie  year  1810,  I  tbund  myself  on  the  Scotch  Ridge,  when  a  portion 
of  the  foregoing  history  of  the  wanderings  of  the  settlers  was  given  to  me. 
From  that  time  I  can  write  from  observation,  and  participation  in  all  the 
struggles,  joys,  and  sorrows  of  St.  James.  At  the  time  of  my  arrival  I 
learned  that  there  were  twenty  persons  who  observed  the  worship  of  Goa 
in  Iheir  families. 

The  grant  of  land  was  issued  in  1812,  and  parish  officers  found  it  in- 
convenient to  have  St.  Stephen  so  extensive.  It  was  divided  next  winter, 
and  the  parish  of  St.  James  formed  from  a  part  of  it.  About  tliis  time  the 
lamented  McDonald  died,  and  his  intimate  friend  Colin  Camnbell.  Esq., 
succeeded  him,  as  Crown  Land  Surveyor;  and  laid  out  Oak-hill  for  na- 
tives  of  St.  Stephen.  In  1813-14,  the  crops  failed,  and  nothing  could  be 
got  from  Calais  on  account  of  the  war.  In  a  general  election  which  oc- 
curred, it  was  said  that  Joseph  Porter,  Esq.,  did  not  miss  a  Scotchman's 
vote  in  the  county.  Wiien  he  was  declared  elected,  a  man  called  him  the 
Scotch  member.  Mr.  Porter  thanked  him  and  said.  "  I  am  proud  of  that 
title."  The  year  1815  bordered  upon  famine  :  many  herbs  and  roots  sel- 
dom used  as  food  were  sought  after  and  obtained.  Mr.  Porter  managed 
to  get  200  bushels  of  corn  into  his  grist  mill;  would  not  sell  a  bushel  of  it 
to  lumbermen.  He  said  that  oxen  and  horses  could  eat  hay,  but  poor 
men's  children  could  not. 

By  this  time  tlie  road  to  St.  Stephen  was  straightened  and  made  shorter  and 
more  passable.  Horses  could  now  carry  a  load  on  their  backs.  Rev.  D.  Mac- 
Caul,  whose  ministry  the  immigrants  attended  at  St.  Stephen,  was  there- 
fore able  occasionally  to  visit  St.  James  on  week-days  and  preach.  Rev. 
Dr.  MacGregor,  of  Pictou,  visited  us,  and  administered  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per.  Some  years  after,  Rev.  Mr.  Sprott  visited  us  ;  next  Rev.  Mr.  Mac- 
Callum  came  twice,  and  administered  the  sacrament  each  time.  Having 
but  two  elders.  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  who  came  to  this  province  from  the 
North  of  Ireland,  ordained  five  additional  elders  and  administered  the  sac- 
rament. In  1825  tlie  Report  of  the  Glasgow  Colonial  Society  reached  us, 
holding  out  inducements  of  supply  to  settlers  in  the  Colonies.  We  thanked 
God  and  took  courage.  Held  a  meeting  to  consider  what  could  be  done 
about  building  a  church.  One  thought  it  could  be  done  :  another,  that  it 
was  visionary.  One  thought  that  He  who  sent  the  fish  with  a  piece  of 
money  in  his  mouth  to  Peter's  hook  would  send  us  help ;  another,  that  we 
might  build  a  small  church,  but  not  a  large  one ;  a  third,  that  we  could 
build  a  large  church  easier  than  a  small  one ;  that  friends  would  be  more 
liberal  in  aiding  us,  and  we  could  have  a  bolder  face  to  beg  for  a  respecta- 
ble  building  than  for  a  mean  one.  It  might  be  said  of  St.  James  in  those 
days: 

Behold  how  good  a  thing  it  is 

-\nd  how  becoming  well. 
Together,  such  as  brethren  are 

In  unity  to  dwell.  — Ps.  133. 

All  longed  to  see  the  one  object  accomplished.  It  was  finally  agreed  to 
erect  a  building,  42x36,  17  feet  post,  with  end  gallery,  and  a  tower.    A 


524  APPENDIX. 

Bubscription  list  was  opened — the  old  men  signing^  from  £5  to  iJlO  in  la- 
bour and  materials.  We  had  a  goodly  number  of  young  men  who  had  no 
wives  to  make  them  drag  heavily,  and  they  went  into  it  like  the  42d  going 
to  battle.  A  man  was  sent  to  St.  Stephen  with  a  paper,  and  the  third  day 
came  home  with  i^To  subscribed.  Another  man  was  sent  to  St.  John, 
St.  Andrews,  &.e.  People  were  astonished  at  our  courage  and  success, 
for  to  many  the  object  seemed  visionary.  Being  late  in  the  season  wc 
postponed  building  till  next  summer. 

lu  January  1826  our  brightest  star,  Niel  Morrison,  was  called  to  his  ever- 
lasting rest  That  was  a  day  of  mourning  and  weeping  in  St.  James.  Be- 
lieving that  death  was  near,  he  said  to  a  brother  elder,  "  You  nmsttake  my 
place  in  the  Sabbath  services."  I  watched  with  him  the  night  before  liis 
death ;  in  the  morning  had  family  worship  with  him.     At  the  close  of  if,  he 

stretched  out  his  hand,  drew  me  near,  and  said,  "  My  dear ,  never 

continue  praying  as  long  as  you  get  words  to  utter.  Many  a  time  I  have 
been  splitting  on  that  rock.  Long  prayers  are  a  weariness  to  the  carnal 
mind."  I  mention  this  for  the  instruction  of  young  converts.  Aged  ex- 
perienced Christians  generally  make  short  comprehensive  prayers. 

Summer  came,  and  every  man  and  ox  was  up  and  doing.  A  frame 
was  raised,  underpinned,  boarded,  and  the  roof  shingled  and  painted  ;  liie 
tower  boarded  to  the  bell  dock,  and  covered  to  keep  the  rain  out  until  we 
could  do  better.  Funds  getting  exhausted  we  were  brought  to  a  halt. 
We  were  reminded  of  the  words  of  Dr.  Watt : 

We  may  expect  some  danger  nigh 
When  we  possess  delight. 
A  Gaelic  preacher,  who  laboured  a  few  years  in  Pictou,  appeared  amotigst 
us,  saying  that  he  had  heard  of  us  and  felt  anxious  to  give  us  a  few  weeks 
preaching.  We  received  him  with  joy.  Weeks  passed — months — attach- 
ment growing  stronger  in  some,  suspicion  springing  up  in  the  mind  of 
others.  The  general  attachment  was  so  great  that  a  call  was  spoken  of. 
hour  elders  wished  to  see  credentials  before  signing  a  call.  He  stated 
that  these  were  in  Pictou,  but  he  would  go  and  get  them.  He  left  and 
was  gone  about  six  weeks.  Here  I  find  a  difficult  task,  viz.,  to  deal  with 
the  inconsistency  of  the  dead,  and  yet  I  cannot  explain  the  case  without 
doing  so,  more  or  less.     We  received  a  letter  from  a  friend  in  St.  John 

that  he  was  in  and  about  that  city  all  the  time  under  the  influence  of . 

He  returned,  but  no  credentials;  they  were  lost.  How  hard  to  root  out 
prejudice  even  in  good  people !  A  Gaelic  minister  in  St.  James  it  was  im- 
possible  to  part  with.  Here  a  division  took  place — the  congregation  and 
two  elders,  majority;  four  elders  and  their  families,  minority.  Our  school, 
house  erected  on  an  acre  of  land  purchased  in  1811  was  large.  It  was 
intended  for  holding  meetings.  It  was  left  with  the  majority  for  six 
months,  on  the  condition  that  the  minority  should  have  it  next  six  months. 
The  latter  knew  that  the  former  had  godly  men  and  women  among  them. 
They  had  the  aged  elder  of  Sutherlandshire  with  them,  who  seemed  to 
have  the  Bible  by  heart,  although  he  knew  no  letters,  nor  English.  The 
Bword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  tlie  word  of  God,  and  prayer  were  deemed  the 
best  recourse,  in  order  to  overcome  the  trouble.  No  application  to  the 
Presbytery  was  made,  no  violent  language,  nor  public  discussion.  One 
party  did  indeed  say  that  the  other  neither  knew  their  Bibles,  nor  the 
principles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland ;  that  if  the  minister  preached  the 
truth  on  the  Lord's  day,  his  failings  during  the  week  were  nobody's  busi- 
ness. Loving  brethren  and  sisters  going  to  worship  the  same  God,  through 
the  same  Saviour,  began  to  avoid  each  other.  A  third  elder  was  ordained 
and  added  to  the  other  two  to  strengthen — one  more  lamb-like  could  not 


APPENDIX.  525 

be  found.  The  disscntintr  elders,  as  tlicy  mijrlit  be  called,  attended  the 
ordination,  said  nothing,  and  alter  benediction  walked  off,  followed  by 
several  men  and  women  expressing-  sorrow  that  we  should  differ.  By  the 
expiration  of  six  months  tlie  minister  moved  his  quarters  to  tiic  Ba^swood 
Ridge.  Tiie  school-house  was  left,  and  occupied  as  proposed.  The  mi- 
nority increased.  This  state  of  things  continued  nearly  three  years.  At 
last  the  word  of  God  came  so  forcibly  to  the  aged  elder  tliat  he  could  not 
resist.  He  confessed  his  error  of  his  own  accord.  After  this  the  majority 
got  to  be  a  small  minority.  Mark  here  what  a  great  injury  one  gifted 
man  can  do  to  a  congregation.  At  last  the  minister  took  his  leave.  Wc 
tlien  wrote  to  Rev.  Dr.  MacLean  of  St.  Andrews  to  give  us  a  day's  preach- 
ing. He  was  a  good  Gaelic  scholar,  came  well  prepared  for  the  occasion 
and  found  us  all  in  one  house.  Thus  ended  our  first  division,  January, 
lb'30. 

Resolved  to  go  forward  with  the  building,  a  man  was  sent  to  Frederic- 
ton  to  solicit  aid.  He  set  off  on  horseback  about  January  20.  On  his  ar- 
rival in  Frederieton  he  met  the  late  Colonel  Wyre,  and  James  Brown, 
Esq.  They  took  him  into  the  Assembly  sleigh :  drove  to  Government 
house,  and  introduced  him  to  Sir  Archibald  Campbell  who  gave  him  .£10. 
He  returned  by  way  of  St.  John.  There  he  found  that  his  never  failing 
friend  Colin  Campbell,  tlicn  Editor  of  the  Courant,  published  in  St.  An- 
drews, had  in  a  conspicuous  column  given  notice  of  his  tour,  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  church,  the  weakness  of  the  congregation,  and  wished  him  all 
success  in  his  praise-worthy  undertaking.  The  feeling  of  attaclmient  be- 
tween Messrs.  Porter,  Campbell,  and  the  emigrants  never  was  disturbed  , 
it  exists  in  their  children,  and  I  doubt  not  will  go  down  to  the  tiiird  or 
fourth  generation.  The  delegate  from  St.  James  brought  home  £54  in 
his  pocket.  Next  Summer  tlie  walls  were  finished  inside  and  out,  lathed, 
floors  laid,  pulpit  built.  The  church  was  seated  with  benches,  and  when 
prepared  was  opened  by  Dr.  MacLean.  But  our  young  men  were  not 
pleased  with  the  look  of  the  church  which  as  yet  had  no  steeple.  Although 
most  of  them  wrought  double  their  first  subscriptions,  they  subscribed  again 
the  sum  of  .£25  without  consulting  the  old  men,  and  beautified  the  church 
with  a  handsome  spire.  This  made  it  a  pleasant  object  to  look  from  a 
distance,  and  it  enlivened  the  neighbourhood  in  which  it  was  placed. 
Meanwhile  we  sent  a  bond  to  Scotland,  well  signed,  with  a  view  to  get  a 
minister,  and  anxiously  awaited  the  result. 


Appendix  Gt. 


(From  the  Colonial  Patriot,  March  6th,  1830.) 

Dr.  MacGregor.  It  is  this  week  our  painful  duty  to  record  the  death 
of  the  Rev.  James  MacGregor,  D.  D.  Two  years  ago  he  was  seized  with 
paralysis ;  and  on  Monday  last  experienced  a  return,  which  terminated 
in  death  on  Wednesday.  He  had  completed  70  years.  His  funeral  took 
place  this  day,  at  one  o'clock ;  and  was  attended  by  an  immense  assem- 
blage from  all  parts  of  the  district.  For  44  years  this  excellent  Divine  has 
laboured  in  Pictou ;  and  there  never  lived  a  man  more  universally  esteemed 


52G  Ai'PJiNDix. 

and  beloved.  lie  came  to  tliis  country  under  the  authority  of  the  Asso- 
ciate Synod,  in  Scotland.  Wc  refrain  from  farther  remarks,  assured 
that  an  extended  account  of  his  lilc  will  be  ere  long  prepared  by  abler 
hands. 

The  following  extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by  Jotham  Blanchard, 
Esq.,  at  Glasgow,  at  a  general  meeting  of  tlic  Society  for  advancing  libe- 
ral education  in  the  Colonies,  may  not,  in  the  meantime,  be  considered  out 
of  place. 

"  Near  half  a  century  ago  this  father,  (  Dr.  MacGregor,)  actuated  by  an 
ardent  piety,  and  a  mure  than  ordinary  vigor  of  mind,  put  his  life  in  his 
hand,  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  preach  the  gospel  to  those  who  literally 
dwell  solitarji  in  the  woods.  lie  had  a  field  boundless  in  extent  as  in  dif- 
ficulties. The  Eastern  part  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  adjacent  Islands  of 
C:ipe  Breton  and  Prince  Edward,  were  all  before  him.  The  inhabitants 
were  fi^w  and  far  apart — roads  in  that  region  were  an  invention  of  a  late 
fhiy — the  site  of  the  (own  of  Pictou  contained  one  or  two  houses — and  it 
was  not  an  easy  matter  to  travel  to  the  next, — marked  trees,  a  pocket  com- 
pass, or  an  Indian  were  the  only  guides  through  the  wilderness  in  those 
early  times;  and  the  frail  barks  which  were  used  on  the  harbours,  and 
rivers,  and  seus,  afforded  a  still  less  desirable  mode  of  travelling.  But  the 
people  were  in  need  of  the  gospel;  and  that  to  Dr.  MacGregor,  was  suffi- 
cient to  call  tbrth  all  that  duty  required — they  were  anxious  for  it,  and 
that  called  forth  more.  It  would  be  difficult  to  justify  his  constant  expo- 
sure of  person  by  night  and  by  day  ;  and  his  almost  superhuman  exer- 
tions from  week  to  week,  and  year  to  year.  A  plank  was  ot1t  his  bed,  and 
a  potato  his  fare.  Sleep  was  not  seldom  denied  him  for  peveral  niglits 
together.  The  people  were  located  in  little  settlements,  and  when  he  visited 
one  of  these  there  were  they  all ;  and  his  prayers  and  preaching  and 
exhortations  were  often  continued  with  little  interruption  lor  a  week  at  a 
time.  Nor  were  his  labours  in  vain.  There  are  yet  many  in  life  of  the 
best  of  our  people,  who  received  all  their  religious  knowledge  and  reli- 
gious impressions  under  his  ministry.  Many  more  have  gone  to  their  re- 
ward, and  he  will  speedily  enter  upon  his,  for  he  is  worn  out  in  the  service 
of  his  Master." 

{From  the  Halifax  Recorder,  March  6th,  1830.) 
DIED: 

At  the  East  River  of  Pictou  on  Wednesday  last,  at  an  advanced  age, 
the  Rev.  James  MacGregor,  D.  D.,  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  In  recording 
the  death  of  this  worthy  and  honoured  father  of  the  Church  of  Nova  Scotia, 
wc  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  our  grief  at  the  removal  of  so  kind  a 
relation  from  the  bosom  of  his  family — so  pious  and  benevolent  a  member 
from  the  body  of  society.  He  was  among  the  first  Presbyterian  Clergy- 
men, who,  animated  by  the  hope  of  benefitting  mankind,  Icfl  the  comforts 
of  a  British  home,  to  seek  toil  and  privation  in  the  forest  of  Nova  Scotia. 
About  the  year  ITSfi  he  landed  in  the  district  of  Pictou,  where  his  exer- 
tions for  religion  cnnnot  soon  be  forgotten.  "Aroused  to  activity  by  the 
vigor  of  youth,  and  burning  with  desire  to  promote  the  best  interests  of 
men.  he  traversed  the  pathless  solitudes  in  every  direction — not  to  collect 
the  hire  of  the  labourer  from  tiie  people  of  the  wood,  but  to  share  their 
hardships,  and  soothe  their  sorrows  with  the  tidings  of  salvation.  When 
ever   a  prospect  of  usefulness  opened,  he  disregarded  fatigue  and  out- 


APPENDIX.  527 

braved  danger,  that  the  lost  sheep  of  the  desert  might  be  restored  to  the 
fold." 

He  laboured  in  t!ic  true  cause  of  pure  Christianity,  viewing  tlie  human 
family  with  the  eharitablc  eye  of  a  brollicr,  lie  raised  no  petty  objections 
about  form.  He  was  neither  the  narrow  zealot  of  a  particular  sect,  nor 
the  paltry  bigot  wlio  wished  to  create  distinctions  where  no  diiferenee  ex- 
isted. If  he  met  a  believer,  he  joined  him  as  a  Iravelkr  journeying  on  the 
same  road  to  the  same  country,  and  was  happy  tliat  they  liad  been  brought 
together.  If  he  found  an  unfortunate  brother,  who  needed  consolation,  be 
remained  not  to  inquire,  whether  that  brother  were  of  Paul  or  of  Apollos, 
but  administered  to  him  the  comforts  of  tlie  gospel.  He  was  a  Trustee  of 
tlie  Pietou  Academy,  who  filled  the  situation  with  equal  honour  to  him- 
sell",  and  advantage  to  the  institution  ;  and  he  was  an  active  co-operator  in 
whatever  tended  to  promote  tlie  interests  of  education.  To  Pietou  he  has 
ever  been  a  father  and  a  friend.  When  in  its  infancy  he  guarded  llie 
morals  of  its  inhabitants — communicated  to  them  a  knowledge  of  tlie  Sa- 
viour, and  watched  over  their  best  interests.  Now  that  he  has  been  gatli- 
ercd  to  his  fathers,  the  virtuous  and  tiie  f;;-ood  of  all  denominations  who 
knew  Jiim  will  deplore  the  loss  that  the  Christian  religion  must  sustain 
in  his  removal ;  yet  it  is  a  subject  of  joy  to  know  that  his  spirit  has  been 
wafted  to  the  bosom  of  tlie  Master,  wiiom  he  so  faithfully  served  while  on 
earth.  Even  the  individuals  who  embittered  his  latter  days  by  their  ef- 
forts to  frustrate  his  labours,  and  who  endeavoured  to  sow  the  seeds  of  dis- 
cord where  peace  had  formerly  reigned,  will  now  leave  him  to  his  rest : 
and  tlicy  will  probably  lament  that  they  inflicted  a  wound  into  the  heart 
of  one  so  benevolent  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  Macdiregor,  who  never  wounded  any. 
The  friends  of  Christianity  may  rejoice  to  learn  that  a  memoir  of  this 
Reverend  Gentleman  will  be  presented  to  the  public,  from  the  pen  of 
one  who  will  not  fail  to  make  it  interesting  to  every  religious  mind. 

MEMOIR  OF  THE  REV.  JAMES  MACGREGOR,  D.  D.,  EROiM  A 
WORK  ENTITLED  "BIBLIOTHECA  SCOTA-CELTICA.  "  BY  JOHN 
REID,  GLASGOW,  1832. 

James  MacGregor  was  a  native  of  Perthshire  :  he  was  born  and  brought 
up  in  the  vicinity  of  Comrie,  on  the  romantic  banks  of  the  Loch  Earn. 
He  not  only  spoke  the  Gaelic  witli  fluency,  but  wrote  it  with  elegance  and 
precision,  which  in  those  days  was  a  rare  attainment. 

After  passing  through  the  necessary  Seminaries  and  Halls  of  learning, 
at  the  early  age  of  about  21,*  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  General 
Associate  Synod.  Nearly  half  a  century  ago,  although  his  prospects  of  a 
charge  in  this  country  were  very  encouraging ;  upon  a  requisition  being 
received  from  Nova  Scotia  for  a  minister,  actuated  by  an  ardent  piety,  and 
more  than  ordinary  vigor  of  mind,  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  preach  tlie 
gospel  to  tliose  who  "dwelt  solitary  in  the  woods." 

He  here  entered  on  a  field  boundless  in  extent  as  in  difReulties.  The 
Eastern  part  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  Islands  of  Cape  Breton  and  Prince 
Edward,  were  all  before  him.  The  iniiabitants  were  few  and  far  between. 
Roads  in  tiiat  region  were  an  invention  of  a  later  day.  The  site  of  tlie 
town  of  Pietou  Contained  only  one  or  two  liouses,  and  it  was  not  an  easy 
matter  to  travel  to  tlie  next  hamlet, — marked  trees,  a  pocket  compass,  or 
an   Indian  were  his  only  guides   through   the  wilderness  in  those  early 

*  AVe  think  this  a  uiistakc— G.  P. 


528  APPENDIX. 

times ;  but  the  people  were  in  need  of  the  g-ospel,  and  that,  to  Dr.  Mac- 
Gregor,  was  suflicient  to  call  forth  all  his  exertions. 

It  Would  be  difficult  to  justify  liis  constant  exposure  of  person,  bv  night 
and  by  day,  and  his  almost  sujicrhunian  exertions  froni  week  to  week,  and 
year  to  year.  A  plank  was  often  his  bed,  and  a  potato  his  fare.  Sleep 
was  frequently  a  strang-cr  to  him  for  several  nights  togetlicr.  Towards 
the  close  of  liis  life  and  niiiiistry,  we  regret  to  say  that  the  comfort  of  this 
man  of  God  was  embittered,  and  liis  congregation  rent  by  tiic  intrusion 
of  a  stranger  into  his  labours;  and  still  more  to  add  tliat  party  spirit  sup- 
planted the  feelings  of  gratitude,  and  not  a  few  wjio  owed  much  to  him, 
when  none  other  would  come  over  to  help  them,  deserted  his  ministry  Ibr 
that  of  anotlier,  certainly  not  more  able,  or  affectionate,  or  Evangelical. 

Nothing,  however  could  divert  his  benevolence  from  its  predominant 
bent.  Attached  to  the  land  of  his  fathers,  and  anxious  to  promote  the  best 
interests  of  his  countrymen  at  home — to  edify  those  by  his  pen,  whom  he 
could  no  longer  reach  by  his  voice,  he  conceived  the  design  of  clothing  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel  in  Gaelic  versification,  that  he  might  unite  tlic  best 
instruction  with  the  sweetest  melodies  of  his  native  land.  The  execu- 
tion of  this  purpose  produced  the  little  volume  of  hymns  which  bear  his 
name. 

MacGrcgor  may  be  regarded  as  the  apostle  of  Nova  Scotia,  or  at  least  of 
the  District  of  Pictou.  Doubtless,  others  have  laboured  in  other  parts  of 
the  Colony  with  laudable  industry,  as  well  as  with  desirable  success,  and 
deserved  their  meed  of  praise.  Nay,  one  or  two  had  preceded  him  on  the 
scene  of  the  ministry;  but  he  was  best  known  in  this  western  part  of  Scot- 
land, therefore  most  frequently  mentioned  there,  and  very  highly  as  well 
as  justly  esteemed. 

In  proof  of  this  last  statement,  one  fact  which  is  honourable  to  all  par- 
tics  concerned,  deserves  to  be  recorded.  No  sooner  were  his  character 
and  claims  testified  to  the  members  of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  than 
the  Senate  unanimously  agreed  to  confer  upon  him  the  title  of  D.  D.,  an 
honour  which  he  amply  merited  by  his  attainments  and  his  services,  but 
which,  coming  from  his  native  land,  and  from  a  literary  quarter  so  highly 
respectable,  would  be  received  by  him  with  peculiar  interest,  and  would 
contribute,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  unsolicited  and  unexpected  as  it  was  on 
his  part,  to  shed  a  gleam  of  light  upon  the  evening  of  his  life,  and  to  cheer 
him  amid  the  causes  of  depression  which  arose  from  the  failure  of  nature, 
and  the  fickleness  of  some  of  his  former  friends. 

Besides,  being  a  man  of  ardent  piety,  of  determined  resolution,  of  expan- 
sive benevolence,  and  of  elevated  spirit,  he  was  a  Divine  of  no  small  reach 
of  thought,  and  a  poet  of  considerable  genius. 

His  letters  which  he  wrote  on  behalf  of  the  Church  in  that  distant 
land,  exhibit  a  charming  and  touching  simplicity. 

Some  of  his  essays,  published  in  a  religious  periodical  in  his  native 
country,  show  that  he  was  possessed  of  an  independent  turn  of  thinking  ; 
and  the  small  volume  of  hymns,  already  noticed,  is  believed  to  be  the  last 
of  his  printed  works,  and  demonstrates,  as  well  as  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
life,  that  he  loved  to  consecrate  the  crowning  and  the  most  powerful  efl 
forts  of  his  mind,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  his  countrymen. 

In  the  Spring  of  1828,  he  was  seized  with  epilepsy,*  and  at  Pictou,  on 
tlie  first  day  of  March,  1830,  at  the  age  of  70,  he  experienced  a  return, 
which  terminated  in  his  death  on  the  3d.  Ilis  funeral  was  attended  by 
an  immense  assemblage  from  all  parts  of  the  district. 

*  Should  be  paralysis. — Q.  P. 


APPENDIX.  529 

For  46  years  this  excellent  Divine  had  laboured  in  Pictou,  and  there 
never  lived  a  man  more  universally  esteemed  and  beloved. 

K.XTRACT    FROM   A   SERMON    PREACIIKD   BY  THE   REV.  ROBERT 
S.   FATTERSON, 

I  HAVE  made  these  remarks  witli  a  view  to  turn  your  attention  to  the 
hiiiientcd  death  of  the  late  Dr.  MaeGrcgor,  of  the  East  River,  of  Pictou. 
\Vc  are  not  in  the  habit  of  preaching  funeral  sermons.  While  we  consider 
it  our  duty  carefully  to  improve  ])rovidential  dispensations,  we  conceive 
th;it  this  is  better  done  without  referring  to  tlic  character  of  the  deceased. 
We  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  however,  that  from  this  rule  there  are  some  ex- 
ceptions. There  are  persons  who  are  possessed  of  such  superior  excellence, 
or  who  have  been  so  distinguished  lor  their  zeal  and  activity,  and  la- 
bours in  the  cause  of  Christ,  that  it  would  bo  unwise  and  unjust  to  with- 
hold that  tribute  to  their  memory  which  our  feeble  abilities  can  afford. 

Among  these,  the  venerable  minister  whose  death  we  have  announced 
to  you,  holds  no  inferior  place.  Nor  ought  this  tribute  of  respect  to  be 
eoulined  to  that  part  of  the  clmreh  in  which  he  more  immediately  resided. 
Tliough  connected  with  a  particular  congregation,  his  usefulness  was  not 
restrained  within  siich  narrow  limits.  Like  an  eminent  servant  of  Christ 
of  old,  his  praise  was  in  all  the  churches.  His  name  was  extensively 
known,  and  the  respect  which  it  secured  was  not  more  limited.  Surely 
then,  it  cannot  be  improper  in  me  to  make  him  the  subject  of  a  {ew  remarks. 
And  here  I  would  wish  not  to  be  misunderstood.  He  who  is  now  gone, 
is  removed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  kind  offices  of  humanity.  He  has,  no 
doubt,  mingled  with  the  multitudes  who  surround  the  throne.  All  the  re- 
spect which  we  can  afford  him,  will  not  in  the  least  degree  affect  his  state. 
But  he  has  left  us  an  example,  which  each,  according  to  the  sphere  in 
which  he  moves,  would  do  well  to  follow.  While  we  cherish  the  memory 
of  his  virtues  in  our  hearts,  let  us  imitate  them  in  our  life. 

Between  forty  and  fifty  years  ago,  this  excellent  man,  influenced  by  a 
strong  desire  to  promote  the  salvalicn  of  perishing  mortals,  left  the  coun- 
try of  his  nativity.  All  the  endearments  of  home,  which  to  him  were 
neither  few  nor  small,  must  yield  to  his  ardent  benevolence.  Born  in  a 
country,  which,  for  ages  past,  had  been  the  seat  of  science  and  civilization, 
enjoying  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education,  he  was  formed  for  realizing 
the  j>leasures  of  literarj'  society.  Possessing  no  common  degree  of  sensi- 
bility also,  he  must  have  keenly  felt  the  pains  of  separation  from  relatives 
and  friajids.  But  ail  these  considerations,  his  desire  to  promote  the  hon- 
our of  his  master  and  the  salvation  of  his  fellow  men,  far  out-weighed. 
Suihce  it  to  remark,  that  leaving  the  land  of  his  fathers,  he  arrived  at  the 
shores  of  Nova  Scotia.  The  district  of  Pictou  was  to  be  the  scene  of  his 
labours.  He  who  now  visits  that  country  can  form  but  a  very  imperfect 
idea  of  what  it  was  at  that  period.  Nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  a  con- 
tinued succession  of  wood,  with  here  and  there  a  solitary  inhabitant,  with 
a  little  cultivation.  The  pathless  forest,  also,  presented  but  a  poor  means 
of  intercourse  between  the  scattered  settlers.  In  this  situation  none  of 
you  will  anticipate  that  their  cotnforts  would  be  abundant.  But  I  need 
j>ot  pretend  to  give  you  information  upon  this  point.  There  are  some  in 
tiiis  worshipping  assembly  who  might  well  be  my  instructors,  and  to  them 
I  appeal  for  the  truth  of  these  statements. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  country  when  this  faithful  minister  entered 
upon  his  labours.  A  mind  less  ardent,  appalled  by  the  difficulties  of  the 
45 


530  APPENDIX. 

situation,  would  hare  shrank  back  from  the  attempt.  But  his  zeal  was  of 
no  common  order.  Ardent  in  youth,  vigorous  in  constitution,  and  burn- 
ing witli  desire  to  promote  the  salvation  of  his  fLllow-mortals,  he  com- 
menced liis  mhiistrations.  Exposed  to  privations  and  toil,  he  laboured 
long  and  faitlifiilly  in  that  part  of  the  church.  He  has  been  a  father  to 
the  district  of  Pietou  ;  he  has  watclied  over  the  best  interests  of  that  grow- 
ing community,  and  deatli,  only,  terminated  his  exertions  on  its  belialf. 
His  labours  have  not  been  in  vain.  The  Master  whom  he  so  faithliilly 
served  has  honoured  his  ministrations  with  ricli  fruit.  He  lived  to  sec 
many  spiritual  children  to  be  a  source  of  comfort  to  liim  in  his  declining 
years ;  and  he  will  have  many  for  a  crown  of  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord  .lesus. 

Wide  and  difficult  as  was  his  charge  in  the  district  of  Pieton,  his  labours 
were  not  confined  to  it.  He  could  not  behold  the  vast  moral  wilderness 
before  him  witliout  tlie  deepest  sympathy.  In  Nova  Scotia,  New  Bruns- 
wick, Cape  Breton,  and  Prince  Edward  Island,  there  was  a  vast  field  un- 
cultivated. Tiiousands  were  jKTisliing  for  lack  of  the  bread  of  life.  The 
prospect  was  too  painful  for  the  benevolent  mind  of  this  faithful  minister, 
to  contemplate  without  sympathy.  Nor  did  his  sympathy  evaporate  in 
mere  unavailing  desires.  He  resolved  to  traverse  the  pathless  forest,  and 
carry  the  tidings  c^f  salvation  to  those  who  dwelt  solitary  in  the  woods. 
We  are  accustomed  even  now,  to  complain  of  inconveniences  of  travelling  ; 
but  judging  from  the  present,  we  can  form  little  idea  of  the  difficulties  that 
existed  forty  years  ago.  At  that  period  roads  were  almost  entirely  un- 
known. The  sea  shore  often  presented  the  only  path,  intercepted  by  nu- 
merous rivers,  which  were  crossed  frequently  with  great  difficulty,  and 
sometimes  with  no  small  danger.  Tiic  accommodations  of  the  traveller 
were  anything  but  eomfortablc.  This  indeed,  in  most  instances,  was  not 
the  fault  of  his  benevolent  entertainer.  Had  lie  possessed  the  means,  no 
doubt  the  accommodations  of  liis  visitor  would  have  been  more  ample;  but 
what  could  be  expected  from  him  ?  Placed  in  the  middle  of  the  wood,  his 
little  cultivation  affording  him  only  a  scanty  means  of  subsistence ;  far  re- 
moved from  any  quarter  vi'hcre  the  comforts  of  life  could  be  procured,  he 
was  but  ill-prepared  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers.  A  plank  was  of- 
ten the  lied,  and  a  potato  the  fare  of  the  weary  traveller.  Such  was  the 
situation  of  the  country,  when  this  faithful  servant  of  Christ  traversed  a 
great  part  of  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  Cape  Breton,  and  Prince  Ed- 
ward Island,  sharing  tlie  hardsliips  of  the  scattered  inhabitants,  and  sooth- 
ing their  sorrows  with  the  tidings  of  salvation.  And  no  doubt  his  name 
is  mentioned  in  many  a  humble  dwelling ;  no  doubt  many  can  trace  tlieir  best 
Consolations  to  his  prayers  and  his  instructions ;  and  no  doubt  many  will 
drop  the  tear  of  sympathy  over  this  venerable  minister. 

It  is  not  our  intention,  at  present,  to  enter  into  a  detail  of  his  varied  la- 
bours, in  the  service  of  his  Master.  Any  attempts  of  this  kind  our  limits 
would  not  permit ;  and,  indeed  it  is  altogether  unnecessary.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  many  of  you  are  vrell  acquainted  with  his  great  exertions.  It 
cannot  be  improper,  however,  shortly  to  advert  to  some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent features  in  his  character,  which  we  ought  to  make  the  object  of  our 
imitation. 

His  faith  was  of  no  ordinary  description.  To  that  revelation  which 
God  has  given  us  of  liis  will,  he  gave  his  most  unqualified  assent.  His 
was  no  speculative  faith;  it  powerfully  influenced  his  lile.  Not  only  in 
the  season  of  ])rosf)crity,  when  tlie  world  smiled  around,  but  in  the  dark 
hour  of  adversity  he  firmly  trusted  in  God.  'I'lie  consequence  of  this  was, 
tliat  iii  the  most  threatening  dangers,  his  miiid  was  at  case,     llrmly  re- 


APPENDIX.  531 

lying-  upon  that  God  who  holds  the  reins  of  the  universe  in  his  hands,  he 
was  serene  amidst  tiic  convulsions  by  wliieh  ollurs  are  terrified  ;  and  we 
have  known  few  who  possessed  such  a  firm  and  unbroken  assurance  of  a 
happy  immortality.  Let  us  imitate  his  faitli ;  let  us  believe  the  divine  tes- 
timony; let  us  acquiesce  in  tlie  dispensation  of  heaven. 

His  charity  was  expanded .  He  was  not  of  a  censorious  temper.  He 
was  ever  dis|>osed  to  put  tlie  most  favourable  construction  upon  the  actions 
of  others.  He  could  not  be  induced  to  attach  blame  without  the  most  de- 
cisive proof;  and  he  was  most  ready  to  excuse  and  iorgive.  His  cliarity 
was  not  Confined  to  the  narrow  limits  of  a  sect,  but  reached  to  all  who 
bore  the  Christian  name.  All  who  bore  the  image  of  the  Saviour,  as  iar 
as  known  to  him,  shared  in  liis  esteem  and  his  friendship.  I'hough  firmly 
attached  to  the  Presbyterian  doctrine  and  modes  of  worship,  he  lived  in 
habits  of  intimacy  with  clergymen  and  private  Christians  of  various  de- 
nominations. His  was  not  indeed  that  boasted,  though  false  liberality,  too 
prevalent  at  the  present  day,  whicli  can  so  easily  overlook  sin.  He  was 
too  faitliful  to  his  Master,  and  too  charitable  to  his  brethren,  to  overlook 
sin,  even  in  those  whom  he  most  esteemed  ;  and  he  was  remarkable  lor  a 
happy  talent  for  administering  reprooi",  without  giving  offence. 

Brethren,  let  us  imitate  his  example;  let  us  cultivate  that  expanded 
cliarity  by  which  he  was  so  honourably  characterized  ;  let  us  be  disposed 
to  extenuate  and  forgive  the  faults  of  our  brethren  ;  and  let  us  love  all 
who  bear  the  image  of  Christ,  to  whatever  sect  or  party  they  belong. 

His  zeal  was  most  ardent.  Perhaps  thU  was  one  of  those  excellences  in 
his  character,  which  shine  with  prominent  lustre.  The  cause  of  Zion  ever 
lay  near  his  heart,  and  he  earnestly  sought  its  advancement.  His  zeal 
did  not  waste  itself  in  unavailing  desires,  but  incited  him  to  holy  activity. 
Nor  was  it  repressed  by  trifling,  nor  even  by  great  difficulties.  Those 
obstacles  wliieh  would  have  paralyzed  the  exertions  of  others,  only  excited 
him  to  increased  activity.  His  zeal  was  not  blind  attachment  to  a  sect 
or  part}';  it  was  an  enlightened  zeal;  it  was  a  holy  desire  to  advance  the 
cause  of  God.  Does  not  this  trait  in  his  character  furnish  us  with  a  for- 
cible reproof?  Is  it  not  too  evident  that  zeal  among  us  is  in  a  languish- 
ing condition  ?  Let  a  reflection  on  the  bright  example  set  before  us  kindle 
in  our  hearts  the  holy  flame. 

I  need  scarcely  intbrm  you  that  his  labours  were  abundant.  Which 
of  his  brethren  could  compare  with  him  in  these  ?  Who  of  them  has  mani- 
fested such  unwearied  exertion,  in  carrying  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
to  the  abodes  of  the  destitute  ?  Upon  his  missionary  excursions  also,  he 
was  most  industrious.  Day  after  day,  and  week  after  week,  with  little 
intermission,  his  prayers,  and  his  preaching,  and  his  exertions  were  con- 
tinued. To  him  it  was  no  drudgery  to  be  employed  in  the  service  of  his 
Master.  It  was  the  object  of  his  fondest  delight,  and  his  most  ardent  de- 
sire ;  and  when  the  body  was  worn  down  with  fatigue  the  spirit  remained 
unabated.  You  who  have  heard  him  upon  these  occasions  can  say  that 
he  was  truly  eloquent.  It  was  not  indeed  the  eloquence  which  consisted 
in  the  tinsel  of  rhetoric;  it  was  not  the  eloquence  which  consisted  in  liigli 
sounding  words,  or  gracefully  turned  periods;  but  it  was  the  eloquence  of 
a  heart  deeply  affected  with  the  awful  i-ealities  of  eternity,  and  earnestly 
desirous  of  impressing  the  same  feeling  upon  the  minds  of  others  ;  it  was 
an  eloquence  which  for  a  plainness  and  simplicity  which  rendered  it  adap- 
ted  to  the  lowest  capacity,  strikingly  resembled  that  of  his  great  Master. 
As  an  evidence  of  his  unabated  exertion  in  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  I 
need  only  farther  mention,  that  even  after  the  first  attack  of  that  disease 
which  at  last  tcnninuted  his  mortal  existence,  though  much  weakened,  he 


532  APPENDIX. 

considered  it  bis  duly,  instead  of  diminisliing,  to  increase  his  public  labours 
on  the  S.ibbatli ;  and  on  the  first  day  of  Ibat  very  week  on  which  his  dcatli 
occurred,  he  ])rociainied  tlie  name  of  tliat  Saviour  into  whose  bliosful  pres- 
ence he  was  soon  to  eutcr.  But  lie  rests  from  his  labours  ;  his  toils  arc 
ended ;  his  privations  arc  terminated;  and  he  enjoys  uninterrupted  and 
eternal  repose,  in  tlie  bosom  of  his  Saviour  and  his  God.  Brethren,  let  us 
imitate  his  cxam|ile.  We  arc  not  all  called  to  be  public  teacliers  in  the 
church  ;  but  we  are  called  to  be  diHjjnit  in  the  respective  spheres  whicli 
Providence  has  allotted  us.  Let  us  not  be  slotliful  in  business,  but  fervent 
in  spirit,  serving-  the  Lord.  Let  us  be  steadfast,  immovable,  and  always 
abounding  in  tlio  work  of  the  Lord. 

But  his  usei'ulncss  was  not  confined  to  his  public  labours.  Sensible 
that  he  could  but  ill  serve  his  Master  by  limiting  his  ministrations  to  the 
pulpit,  he  was  the  advocate  of  religion  wlicrcvcr  he  went.  Every  suitable 
opportunity  was  embraced  lor  recommending  the  interests  of  piety  ;  and  to 
him  few,  very  few  indeed,  were  unsuitable.  He  possessed  a  happy  faculty 
of  turning  the  conversation,  whatever  it  might  be,  into  the  channel  of  re- 
ligion, without  giving  offence.  As  the  love  of  Clirist  was  his  ruling  prin- 
ciple, so  he  oflen  dwelt  upon  tlie  wonders  of  redemption.  As  the  great 
tilings  of  God's  law  occupied  the  meditations  of  his  heart,  so  they  were  of- 
ten upon  his  lips.  Remembering  this  trait  in  his  character,  have  we  not 
much  cause  to  blush  deeply  ?  How  seldom  is  religion  the  subject  of  our 
conversation  !  How  often  does  a  criminal  shame  prevent  us  Irom  avow- 
ing the  cause  of  that  Master  wliom  we  profess  to  serve!  Let  us  learn 
wisdom  from  the  bright  example  before  us;  let  our  conversation  be  always 
with  grace,  seasoned  with  salt ;  let  us  be  always  ready  to  give  an  answer 
to  every  one  that  asketli  us  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  within  us,  with 
meekness  and  fear. 

The  benevolence  of  this  servant  of  Christ  also  claims  our  attention.  It 
was  tender  and  affectionate.  None  told  him  the  tale  of  woe,  and  told  it 
in  vain.  Possessing  deep  sensibility  himself,  he  knew  how  to  feel  for 
others.  His  benevolence  did  not  terminate  in  mere  unavailing  sympathy. 
None  was  more  ready  to  extend  the  hand  of  relief;  nor  was  his  benevo- 
lence limited  to  bodily  distress, — he  was  too  sensible  of  the  value  of  the 
inunortal  soul  to  overlook  its  interests.  In  the  house  of  mourning,  and  at 
the  sick  bed,  he  was  no  stranger,  and  few  were  better  qualified  to  admin- 
ister the  healing  balm  of  gospel  consolation.  He  felt  much  for  the  situa- 
tion ol'  the  beniglited  Heathen ;  he  greatly  rejoiced  in  those  benevc^lent 
exertions  by  which  tlie  present  times  are  so  honourably  characterized,  for 
relieving  tiiem  from  their  destitute  situation.  He  dwelt  fondly  upon  the 
prospect  of  millennial  glory,  and  every  means  for  effecting  it  had  his  pat- 
ronage and  support.  He  was  ever  ready,  upon  all  occasions,  to  contrib- 
ute of  his  labour  and  of  his  property  to  the  interests  of  benevolence:  and 
so  liberal  was  his  exj)enditure  for  this  purpose,  as  oflcn  materially  to  di- 
miiiish  the  comforts  of  himself  and  family.  Let  us  imitate  his  benevo- 
lence; let  us  pity,  and,  according  to  ^ur  ability,  relieve  the  distressed  ;  let 
us  soothe  the  sorrows  of  the  afflicted;  let  us  not  withhold  our  support  from 
the  institutions  of  benevolence. 

His  interest  in  the  cause  of  education  ought  not  to  be  overlooked.  He 
was  a  Trustee  of  the  Pictou  Acadeniy,  who  filled  tlie  situation  with  equal 
honour  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  Institution.  Educated  in  that 
Seminary,  I  would  count  it  alike  ungenerous  and  unjust,  not  to  mention 
the  interest  which  this  excellent  man  took  in  its  prosperity.  Little  did  he 
expect  ever  to  sec  such  an  institution  there  when  he  arrived  at  the  district 
ofFictou.     Covered  with  wood,  inhabited   by  a  few  settlers,  possessing 


APPENDIX.  533 

none  of  the  wealth,  and  few  of  the  comforts  of  life,  hardly,  if  at  all,  enjoy- 
ing tlie  advantage  of  llie  eoinmoncst  cdueatioii ;  he  little  aiiticij)ated  tiiat 
Buch  an  institution  would  so  soon  he  established  in  it.  He  liad  seen  vast 
tracts  of  land  rescued  from  the  forest;  he  iiad  seen  extensive  settlements 
formed,  where  Ibrmerly  there  were  few,  if  any,  inhabitants;  he  had  seen  a 
town  erected  where  there  only  one  or  two  solitary  dwellings  ;  he  had  seen 
ph.ees  ot"  worship  reared  where  formerly  no  temjile  of  (Jod  was  to  be  found  ; 
he  had  seen  numerous  faitliful  pastors  around  him,  where  he  was  long  only 
.a  solitary  labourer  ;  he  had  seen  a  seminary  lor  liberal  education  estab- 
lished where  there  was  hardly  a  common  sciiool;  he  had  seen  Zion  in  her 
desolation,  and  in  her  prosperity  ;  he  iiad  seen  a  vast  moral  wilderness,  and  he 
had  seen  tlie  excellency  of  tJarmel  and  Sharon  ;  and  who  could  behold  such  a 
prospect  without  emotion  ?  It  was  too  much  for  a  mind  of  far  less  sensi- 
bility than  that  of  Dr.  JMacGrcgor. 

Here  my  mind  naturally  recurs  to  those  occasions,  when  with  others 
assembk'd  in  that  Institution,  I  shared  in  his  advices  and  in  his  prayers. 
Many  of  these  seasons  I  well  remember.  1  shall  not  soon  forget  my  own 
feelings,  when  I  heard  that  excellent  man  expressing  his  thankfulness  for 
those  prospects  which  so  far  exceeded  his  most  sanguine  expectations, 
while  the  rolling  tears  disclosed  the  emotions  of  his  heart. 

Thus  we  have  given  you,  though  very  imperfectly,  a  short  sketch  of  the 
most  prominent  features  in  the  character  of  this  faithful  servant  of  Christ. 
I'hat  he  was  without  his  faults  we  do  not  presume  to  afRrm.  To  be  free 
from  imperfections,  while  here  below,  is  more  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  hu- 
manity. Even  the  most  eminent  saints  and  servants  of  God  have  not  at- 
tained to  perfection.  Even  the  great  Elijah  was  a  man  subject  to  like 
passions  as  we  are.  But  we  may  safely  affirm,  that  he  whose  life  we 
have  now  briefly  sketched  was  a  burning  and  shining  light.  For  unaffec- 
ted piety — for  ardent  zeal — for  laborious  exertion — for  disinterested  benevo- 
lence, he  has  not  left  his  equal  in  these  parts.  Well,  indeed,  may  the  church 
lament  her  loss.  Truly,  a  great  man  is  fallen  in  Israel.  But  shall  we 
mourn  for  him  ?  No  I  He  is  gone  to  that  God  whom  he  so  faithfully  served  ; 
he  is  gone  to  that  Saviour  whose  cause  he  so  zealously  and  successfully 
promoted;  he  is  gone  to  join  the  assembled  throng  of  holy  angels;  he  is 
gone  to  mingle  in  the  blissful  company  of  glorified  saints,  and  no  doubt 
he  has  met  with  many  happy  spirits,  the  the  fruits  of  his  ministerial  toil. 
Let  us  then  be  followers  of  them,  who,  through  faith  and  patience,  are  now 
inheriting  the  promise. 

45* 


Princeton  Theological   Seminary   Libraries 


I  1    1012   01206  0549 


DATE  DUE 

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CAVLORO                                                          1 

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